The Crucifixion

Martin Johann Schmidt (1718-1801), known as Kremser Schmidt, was an Austrian painter known for the dramatically composed religious paintings that make him one of the most important painters of the Austrian Baroque tradition. The Crucifixion from 1788 depicts the Crucifixion in the dramatically composed, richly colored manner that distinguishes Schmidt's best work from the more general religious painting of his contemporaries. Schmidt was known as Kremser Schmidt after the town of Krems, and his dramatically composed religious paintings represent one of the most important traditions in Austrian Baroque painting. The 1788 date places this late in his career, when he was still producing the dramatically composed religious paintings that are his most accomplished works.

The Crucifixion is important in the history of Austrian painting because it demonstrates the dramatically composed, richly colored manner that Schmidt (Kremser Schmidt) brought to religious subjects as one of the most important painters of the Austrian Baroque tradition. Schmidt's dramatically composed religious paintings—combining the dramatic composition and rich color of the Austrian Baroque tradition—represent one of the most important traditions in Austrian painting, and the 1788 painting shows this tradition at its most dramatically composed.

The Crucifixion is Kremser Schmidt's dramatically composed Austrian Baroque: the Crucifixion rendered in the richly colored manner of one of the most important painters of the Austrian Baroque tradition. The 1788 painting shows the dramatic composition and rich color that make Kremser Schmidt one of the most important Austrian painters.