Crucifixion (van Dyck) 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 Mary Magdalene", sold to Rubens
Anthony van Dyck the instigation of George Villiers, Marquess of Buckingham, van Dyck went to England for the first time where he worked for King James I of England, receiving £100. It was in London in the collection of the Earl of Arundel that he first saw the work of Titian, whose use of colour and subtle modeling of form would prove transformational, offering a new stylistic language that would enrich the compositional lessons learned from Rubens. After about four months, he returned to Flanders, but moved on in late 1621 to Italy, where he remained for six years, studying the Italian masters