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Original fileChristus aan het kruis
About This Work
This engraving depicts the central scene of the Crucifixion set against a darkened sky containing personified symbols of the sun and moon. Below the cross, Roman soldiers are shown casting dice for Christ's seamless robe within an elaborate Mannerist border. The frame is densely packed with symbolic imagery, including skulls, crossbones, and serpents coiled around poles.
The print incorporates the 'Brazen Serpent' typology (shown in the lower corners), a concept frequently cited in Paracelsian alchemy and Christian Kabbalah where the serpent of Moses prefigures Christ's role as the universal healer. The presence of Sol and Luna emphasizes the cosmic and Hermetic dualities often reconciled through the sacrifice of the 'Philosophical King.'
Inscriptions
I·N·R·I IOAN SADLER EXCVD: MARC: GERAER: FIGVR:
Translation
I·N·R·I IOAN SADLER PUBLISHED: MARC: GERAER: FIGURED:
Connected Texts
The Brazen Serpent (Numbers 21:9 / John 3:14)
The coiled serpents at the base refer to the biblical Nehushtan, used in esoteric exegesis as a symbol of transmutation and spiritual healing.
Paracelsus
Paracelsian thought often used the image of the serpent on the cross to illustrate the concept of 'similia similibus curantur' (like cures like).
Provenance & Source
Object
Rijksmuseum, Amsterdam
paper
height 165 mm x width 115 mm
religious
Linked Data
AI AI-cataloged fields generated by gemini-3-flash-preview on April 2, 2026. Getty identifiers are AI-inferred and may require verification.