Plate 26: Christ Crucified, Taos: From Portfolio "Spanish Colonial Designs of New Mexico"

American 20th Century

National Gallery of Art

This is a painting of a crucifixion scene. The image shows a figure on a cross with stylized, exaggerated features and bold outlines. The figure has a narrow face with strong black lines, surrounded by short dark hair. The body is elongated, with visible ribs under the chest and arms outstretched, nailed to the horizontal bar of a dark cross. The skin is marked with strong red lines, simulating wounds or marks around the torso and limbs. The figure wears a green cloth wrapped around the waist. The background is plain off-white, emphasizing the stark colors and bold lines of the figure and cross. It is a dramatic image with expressive color and form, in the style of German expressionists like Emil Nolde.