The Crucifixion in American Art

Book excerpt: The crucifixion of Christ has been richly portrayed by countless artists for hundreds of years, but it was European Renaissance styles and painters such as Kurz, Benjamin West and John Valentine Haidt that first informed American artists of the possibilities for depicting the crucifixion. This work features artists living and working in America from the mid-18th to the 21st century who depicted the crucifixion of Christ in their artwork. The 19th century saw painters like Julian Russell Story, John Singer Sargent, Vassili Verestchagin and Fred Holland break from the Renaissance tradition of the 18th century to begin a religious art revolution. The 20th century saw painters like Thomas Eakins and George Bellows continuing the traditions of the 19th until the Realist style became dominant, which lasted until the latter part of the century and the rise of Abstract Expressionism and a number of experimental styles such as Op, Pop, and Super-realism.