The Raising of the Cross (oil sketch)
The original, as its museum records it
Every line above is reproduced from the holding institution’s own catalogue entry, which is linked. Where their title, date or attribution differs from ours, theirs is the one printed here.
The file this print is made from
| Artist | Peter Paul Rubens (Flemish, 1577–1640) |
|---|---|
| Date | c. 1638 |
| Museum | Art Gallery of Ontario, Toronto |
| Accession | 906 |
| Medium | oil on paper; later mounted on canvas |
| Dimensions | Overall: 72.1 × 132.7 cm (28 3/8 × 52 1/4 in.); Framed: 82.6 × 148.6 × 11.4 cm (32 1/2 × 58 1/2 × 4 1/2 in.) |
| Sheet sizes | 8×10 in, 11×14 in, 16×20 in, 18×24 in, 24×36 in, 32×48 in, 40×60 in |
Sizes
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View in the galleryAbout this painting
Christ goes up on the wood, and it takes a crowd of straining men to lift the One who holds up the world. Around 1638 Rubens opened up his own altarpiece: the Antwerp original of 1610, financed by Cornelis van der Geest, stood in three parts, and this oil sketch on paper was made so it could be engraved and dedicated to van der Geest. Marjorie Wieseman writes that he set the figures in one continuous space, removing the breaks the frame had forced, and added witnesses perched on a cliff left of center and a distant view of Jerusalem right of center: the city He dies outside.
Sources: Marjorie E. Wieseman, entry on The Elevation of the Cross, AGO acc. 906, in 'Drawn by the Brush: Oil Sketches by Peter Paul Rubens', Berkeley Art Museum, read 2026-09-24 · Art Gallery of Ontario, 'Art Pick of the Week: The Raising of the Cross by Peter Paul Rubens', read 2026-09-24 · National Gallery of Art, Washington, Jan Witdoeck after Rubens, The Elevation of the Cross, 1978.31.2-4, read 2026-09-24 · Art Gallery of Ontario, The Raising of the Cross, acc. 906, read 2026-09-24
Wherefore Jesus also, that he might sanctify the people by his own blood, suffered without the gate.
Hebrews 13:12 · Douay-Rheims (Challoner)
Printed on demand. Public-domain masterwork, reproduced from a 9,098 px master of the original. The whole image is printed — never cropped to fit the sheet — so every sheet carries an archival margin, and the dimensions and resolution listed above are the ones you receive.