Christ dying on the cross

The Aragonese painter Felipe Abás, from Calaceite (Teruel), was a student and collaborator of Goya from 1797 until his death in 1813. In 1804, he made a copy, of similar dimensions to the original, of Christ Crucified, the work for which Goya was named an Academician of Merit in Painting by the Royal Academy of San Fernando in Madrid in May 1780. For this splendid copy, Abás was named a supernumerary academician by the Royal Academy of Fine Arts of San Luis in Zaragoza in 1805.

This devotional work for private use was undoubtedly intended for a member of the Royal Court or similar circles and reflects an enlightened form of religious practice. It combines the realism evident in the grain of the cross and the blood gushing profusely from the wounds caused by the nails with a classical treatment of Christ’s naked body and the depiction of the restrained emotion on his face.