# The Crucifixion of Saint Andrew

**Caravaggio** (Italian, 1571–1610)  
1606–7  
oil on canvas  
Framed: 233.5 x 184 x 12 cm (91 15/16 x 72 7/16 x 4 3/4 in.); Unframed: 202.5 x 152.7 cm (79 3/4 x 60 1/8 in.)

Courtesy of the Cleveland Museum of Art, 1976.2. [The museum's record](https://clevelandart.org/art/1976.2).

## About this work

Saint Andrew’s efforts to introduce Christianity to Greece in the first century CE were met with hostility from local authorities. He was sentenced to die on the cross because he refused to acknowledge pagan gods. For two days, Andrew preached from his martyr’s station to an increasingly sympathetic crowd. Bowing to public demand, Andrew’s would-be executioners attempted to untie him, but their hands were mysteriously paralyzed. Andrew’s desire for martyrdom was thus fulfilled and he died enveloped in divine light. Caravaggio’s innovative interpretation involves the viewer more closely in the event by presenting the crucifixion as intimate and private, rather than as a gruesome public spectacle. Bold contrasts of light and dark suggest the presence of God. A masterpiece of Baroque painting, Caravaggio’s Crucifixion of Saint Andrew is the only altarpiece by the artist in America.

_Text from the Cleveland Museum of Art._

Caravaggio painted this in 1606–7, aged about 35. It is now at the Cleveland Museum of Art.

### How it was made

- **Oil paint.** Pigment ground in a drying oil, usually linseed. It dries slowly, so painters could blend on the canvas, build up thin translucent glazes, and rework a picture over weeks. Canvas replaced wooden panels in the 1500s because it is lighter and can be rolled.

### [Caravaggio](https://www.ochreeditions.com/artists/caravaggio)

Italian, 1571–1610; born in Milan or Caravaggio; died in Porto Ercole

## Facts

- Type: Painting
- Culture: Italy, Naples
- The artist was about 35
- Real size: about 80 × 60 in (203 × 153 cm). The original is larger than our largest print, 18 × 24 in, so every print is a reduction.
- Century: 17th century
- Movement: [Baroque](https://www.ochreeditions.com/movements/baroque)
- Colour: brown
- Rights: public domain (CC0 1.0); free to use for any purpose.

## Get it

- Free download, full resolution: https://img.ochreeditions.com/m/701.jpg?dl=1
- Image: https://img.ochreeditions.com/a/701/1920.jpg
- Giclée reproduction on Hahnemühle Photo Rag: 8 × 10 in $28; 11 × 14 in $38; 12 × 16 in $42; 16 × 20 in $56; 18 × 24 in $68
- Framed reproduction: 8 × 10 in $78; 11 × 14 in $98; 12 × 16 in $108; 16 × 20 in $138; 18 × 24 in $164
- Canvas reproduction: 8 × 10 in $58; 11 × 14 in $72; 12 × 16 in $79; 16 × 20 in $98
- Print-ready file: 8 × 10 in $2; 11 × 14 in $2; 12 × 16 in $3; 16 × 20 in $3; 18 × 24 in $3

Sizes stop where the museum's file would print below 150 pixels per inch. Everything sold is a reproduction, made to order. [Order a print](https://www.ochreeditions.com/art/the-crucifixion-of-saint-andrew-cma-148758).