Crucifixion Diptych (van der Weyden) The painting's provenance prior to the mid-19th century is unknown. Its extreme starkness has led art historians to theorize that it was created as a devotional work, possibly for a Carthusian monastery. It is not known if the panels comprised a self-contained diptych, two-thirds of a triptych, or originally were a single panel. Some art historians have mentioned that the work seems unbalanced overall and lacking symmetry (which might indicate a missing panel or panels). Recent scholarship proposes that the panels functioned as the outer shutters of a carved altarpiece. The background to the panels is unknown. Scholars have theorized
Death of the Virgin Mary of Košátky broader circle of paintings executed in a similar way, such as the Vyšší Brod Altarpiece, the Kaufmann Crucifixion and the panels of the Morgan Collection (the "Small Morgan Panels"). The panel was probably originally the wing of a diptych, the second part of which was the Wrocław Holy Trinity. In the quality of its execution, the picture ranks among the finest known works dating from the 14th century. It is at the same time the most Italian work of the entire Bohemian school. The construction of space reveals that the artist was acquainted with the central Italian painting of Siena