Description
Crucifixion with Darkened Sun is a 1907 painting by Egon Schiele: three crosses on a green hill under a wide pink sky, with a dark, eclipsed sun ringed by a yellow corona at the top left. The original measures 41 x 41 cm, so it is small, almost an intimate format. We paint it by hand in oils on canvas at the size you choose, and before dispatch we send you a photograph of the finished work for approval.
| Title: | Crucifixion with Darkened Sun |
| Painter: | Egon Schiele (1890–1918) |
| Year: | 1907 |
| Original size (width × height): | 41 cm x 41 cm |
| Original technique: | Oil on canvas |
| Style: | Expressionism (early work) |
| Our reproduction: | hand-painted oil on canvas, 6 sizes from 45 x 45 cm to 165 x 165 cm or a made-to-measure size |
Crucifixion with Darkened Sun – Egon Schiele
What does the painting show?
Three crosses stand on a green hill, and behind them a wide pink sky opens out. At the top left hangs a dark disc of sun ringed with a yellow corona – the darkened sun of the title. On the right-hand cross hangs Christ, pale blue-green, with a bright halo around his head; in the centre is a green-skinned figure in a white loincloth, blood at the wrists; at the left a dark, almost black figure twists on the cross. In the distance lie a low town and a band of sea. The colours are unexpected for the subject: pink, green and yellow instead of gloom.
Why do people love it?
Because it is not gloomy, although you would expect it to be. The pink sky and green hill give the scene a bright, almost fairy-tale ground, while the dark disc of the sun holds everything in tension – a combination people very rarely have on a wall. The picture is square, which makes it easy to place: a square sits calmly over a chest of drawers, in a niche, or at the centre of a group of frames. And it is very early Schiele, painted at seventeen, long before the portraits he is known for.
Where does it sit among Schiele’s works?
Among his early works with religious and symbolic subjects. Related works in our selection are Calvary, Procession, The Hermits and Self-Seers II (Death and Man). Crucifixion with Darkened Sun dates from 1907, when Schiele was seventeen. The full selection is in the Egon Schiele gallery, with more on his life in our article about Egon Schiele.
How is our hand-painted version made?
A painter works every canvas in oils, stroke by stroke: a hand-painted painting made for your order, not a machine print. Two things decide whether the copy works. The first is the pink sky: it has to be laid smooth and even, without patches, or it looks dirty and the whole scene loses its light. The second is the skin colour on the three crosses – pale blue-green, greenish and almost black – which must stay exactly as different as they are, because that difference is what tells you who is who. Like the original, our copy is oil on canvas. When it is finished we photograph it and send you the photograph for approval, and only then does it ship. This work has not yet been painted and photographed in our workshop, so there are no workshop photographs of it on this page yet: the single photograph on the page shows the painting itself.
Which size for which wall?
The original is small, 41 cm wide and 41 cm high, and our 45 x 45 cm comes closest to it. Because the picture is square it works where an upright or a landscape shape would be awkward: over a chest of drawers, between two doors, in a niche, or inside a group of frames. In a bedroom or a work corner, 45 x 45 cm and 60 x 60 cm; over a sideboard or a desk, 75 x 75 cm; above a sofa in the living room, 95 x 95 cm or 125 x 125 cm; on a large bare wall or in a tall room, 165 x 165 cm. Hang it with the centre at eye level, about 145–150 cm from the floor.
Custom size, stretcher and frame
If none of our sizes suits your wall, we paint the work to your own measurement. If you choose “YES” under the Stretcher option, the canvas comes stretched on a wooden stretcher bar, ready to hang. Our 3D application is for choosing a frame only, not for showing the work on your wall. The frame is chosen separately and need not be part of the order.
Delivery and guarantee
We paint to order and deliver to sixteen countries in the European Union, among them Slovenia, Croatia, Austria, Italy, Hungary, Germany and France; the United Kingdom and Ireland are not currently among them. The painting arrives protectively packed and, if you chose “YES” under Stretcher, stretched on the stretcher bar; before dispatch we send you a photograph of the finished work to approve. Production time depends on the size and on the studio’s workload. Every order is covered by our Returns and Refund Policy.
Frequently asked questions
What does Crucifixion with Darkened Sun show?
Three crosses on a green hill under a wide pink sky, with the darkened sun and its yellow corona at the top left. Christ hangs at the right with a bright halo, a green-skinned figure is in the centre, and a dark twisted figure at the left. A low town and a band of sea lie in the distance.
What is the dark disc at the top left?
The darkened sun of the title: a dark disc with a yellow corona, painted like an eclipse above the hill.
When did Schiele paint it?
In 1907. He was born in 1890, so he was seventeen; this is one of his earliest oil paintings.
Is it too sombre for a living room?
Less than you would think. The ground is pink sky and green hill, both light colours; only the sun disc and the left-hand figure are really dark. It works well on a quiet wall where it can be looked at for a while – a dining room, a reading corner or an entrance hall.
Is this a print?
No. Every canvas is painted by hand in oils by a painter, for your order. We photograph the finished work and send you the photograph for approval before it is dispatched.
How do I look after it?
Keep it out of direct sunlight and away from radiators and damp. Dust it with a dry soft brush or a clean dry cloth; never use water, detergent or furniture spray on an oil painting.
Does it work as a gift?
Yes; if you are unsure which size to choose, or you do not know the wall, there is a gift voucher and the recipient picks the size.
