Crucifixion – Basilica of Santa Maria degli Angeli – Assisi
The fragmentary painting is located inside the Basilica of Santa Maria degli Angeli, on the outer back wall of the Chapel of the Porziuncola. This was part of the choir in 1485, when the fresco was realized by Perugino; however, the part of the church that hosted the choir was demolished in 1569, at the beginning of the works for the new monumental Basilica.
The client, Antonia di Simone (probably portrayed among the Pious Women) in her will dated 1486 assigned eighteen florins to the realization of a large work, for which Perugino was in charge. The iconographic model chosen by the painter for this fresco is strictly local, namely the Crucifixion by Pietro Lorenzetti in the Lower Basilica of Assisi, which he reinterpreted in a Renaissance key. The fresco presents some gaps, and some figures, such as soldiers and bystanders on horseback, are missing; the lower part of the fresco is better preserved, showing the base of the cross on which stood Christ, of which only one leg is still visible, the Virgin supported by Women, Saint Mary Magdalene, Saint Francis embracing the cross, two soldiers on horseback and some other spectators, along with a child.
The work was heavily repainted in 1832; subsequently, a modern restoration has allowed to read the scene in its primitive draft, having eliminated the additions not pertinent to the original, .
The fresco is preserved at the Porziuncola in the Basilica of Santa Maria degli Angeli.
