Crucifixion (van Dyck) delta' symbolising the Holy Trinity. Crucifixion (van Dyck) The Crucifixion is an oil on canvas painting by Anthony van Dyck, produced around 1630. It is 2.51 m high. It was originally commissioned as the high altar-piece in the convent of the Récollets in Lille during van Dyck's second Antwerp period, between his return from Italy in 1627 and his departure for London in 1632. It returned to a theme he had already painted around 1617-19 during his first Antwerp period, when he was still a studio-assistant to Rubens - this was "Crucifixion with the Virgin Mary, St John and St
Anthony van Dyck was provided with a house on the River Thames at Blackfriars, then just outside the City, thus avoiding the monopoly of the Worshipful Company of Painter-Stainers. A suite of rooms in Eltham Palace, no longer used by the royal family, was also put at his disposal as a country retreat. His Blackfriars studio was frequently visited by the King and Queen (later a special causeway was built to ease their access), who hardly sat for another painter while van Dyck lived. He was an immediate success in England, rapidly painting a large number of portraits of the King and Queen