Descent from the Cross (Beckmann)
Descent from the Cross (Beckmann)
Descent from the Cross is an oil-on-canvas painting by German artist Max Beckmann, made in 1917. It measures about 151.2 cm by 128.9 cm (roughly 59.5 in by 50.8 in) and is housed in the Museum of Modern Art in New York.
Beckmann created it after the harsh experiences he had serving in World War I, which pushed him to a new, more intense way of painting. In 1917 he made several religious works, including this piece and Christ and the Woman Taken in Adultery. The Descent from the Cross looks very different from traditional depictions of the scene.
Beckmann was influenced by German Renaissance artists such as Matthias Grünewald and Hans Holbein. Some say he may have answered a challenge from curator Gustav Hartmann to make something as powerful as ancient German art.
The composition shows several viewpoints and distorted figures, with the large central figure of Jesus dominating the scene. Jesus’ body is pale and bruised, showing signs of death, with coagulated blood around the wounds and arms stretched from the crucifixion. A dark sun appears in the upper left. Two kneeling women are at the lower right. Two men carry Jesus from the cross, and the ladder extends outside the painting, as if pointing toward Heaven.
This page was last edited on 3 February 2026, at 05:14 (CET).