The Pazzi Crucifixion

At the recommendation of Harvey, The next research entry will be about Pietro Perugino's piece, The Pazzi Crucifixion! Get excited, kids.

So, the Pazzi Crucifixion. This was commissioned by Giovanna Pucci, a rich Florentine, in 1493. It looks like this;

This honker takes up a whole wall, and is divided into thirds by the ceiling vaults and painted architectural elements. It's honestly kind of hard to even tell that the painted elements aren't real, as the tromp l'oeil is extremely effective and convincing. The true architectural elements and the painted ones blend together extremely well.

The fresco depicts Christ's crucifixion, with the Virgin Mary mourning him underneath the cross. This is pretty standard religious imagery for the time, of course, and the surrounding saints were all chosen because of the meaning the held for the monks who inhabited the convent where the Pazzi Crucifixion was frescoed. St. Maddalena, for example, is the saint to which the church was originally dedicated. 

Another spectacularly successful element of this piece is the scenery, which I've discussed as a strong suit of Perugino's in the past. We see this strength coming out in full in this piece particularly. The background in this piece is luminous, and the emphasis on the harmonious scenery in the background really serves the purpose of de-emphasizing the drama of the scene. We see the serene and meditative nature of Perugino come through in this piece.