La Crucifixion avec la Vierge, saint Jean et un donateur détail

The image captures the base of the cross at Golgotha, where Christ's feet are joined by a single large nail. To the left, a donor wearing a mitre and holding a crosier kneels in prayer beside a heraldic shield featuring green lions. A weathered skull lies prominently in the foreground, representing the grave of Adam according to traditional Christian topography.

The skull at the base of the cross refers to the 'Place of the Skull' (Golgotha) and the legend that Christ was crucified over the burial site of Adam, symbolizing the redemption of original sin. This typological link between the first man and the 'New Adam' was a fundamental concept in Renaissance natural philosophy and sacred history.