Jan van der Straet, called Stradanus

The present sheet is most probably related to a lost or unrealised painted composition. The three crosses drawn in the immediate foreground are especially impressive, contributing to the beautifully recessed planes descending from Golgotha towards the walls of Jerusalem and the mountains beyond. Stradanus painted the theme of the Crucifixion on a number of occasions, and it was also depicted in his two printed series 'Passio, mors et resurrectio Dn. nostri Jesu Christi'.

Though Stradanus's early style shows strong characteristics of his Northern training, this manner was transformed following his move to Florence and his close association with Vasari and his pupils. Indeed, the very strong influence of Florentine artists such as Pontormo and Naldini, to whom this drawing was previously attributed, are especially detectable in this sheet.