Tintoretto. The Crucifixion in the Scuola Grande di San Rocco in Venice

The Crucifixion, the largest of the canvases that Jacopo Tintoretto painted for the Scuola Grande di San Rocco, may have been the most demanding as well, both from the professional point of view and from that of its contents. After the ambiguous story of collusion during the competition for the oval painting on the ceiling of the same Sala dell'Albergo, the artist must in fact have atoned by establishing himself as the official painter of the confraternity.
At the same time the Scuola Grande, by this time Venice's most importanti institution in the field of public assistance and charity, needed a manifesto, that is to say an icon of sure effectthat would clearly express its convictions and objectives, i.e. the reason for its existence. Thus Tintoretto had to interpret the intentions of the confraternity, which wanted the painter to create a setting of intense spirituality, the atmosphere of a holy place.
To attain this result he decided to represent the religious beliefs and charitable impulses of the institution, inserting a work of strong symbolic value, i.e. the Crucifixion, into the ceremonial route that led from the outer entrance up the monumental staircase to the Sala dell'Albergo. This was the route taken by the procession that made its way to and from the Campo di San Rocco, setting the dramatic death of Christ as the endpoint of the perspective that, through the marble portal, reached its conclusion in front of the painting.