Small in size, designed to be folded and easily carried by their owners, portable triptychs (sometimes also called house triptychs or altars) are intimate objects originating from the domestic sphere. They bear witness to private devotional practices, particularly itinerant devotion: serving as a support for personal prayer during travels or pilgrimages, portable triptychs constitute a mobile spiritual tool for the devout.

This exquisite small portable triptych depicts the Crucifixion on its central panel, featuring the Virgin Mary (to the left of the cross), Mary Magdalene (to the right, at the foot of the cross), and Saint John the Evangelist (on the right, in a magnificent contrapposto). The side wings portray two saints: on the left wing, identifiable by his brown dress and his cord with three knots, Saint Francis of Assisi (founder of the Franciscan Order) and, on the right wing, identifiable by its flowering rod and the Child Jesus in his arm, Saint Joseph. The triptych is crowned by a small pediment showing God the Father leaning over the Crucifixion scene. When closed, this small altarpiece reveals a delicate grisaille representation of the Annunciation: the Archangel on the reverse of the left wing and the Virgin on the reverse of the right wing.

Although it is certainly based on a Flemish model — particularly reminiscent of Crucifixion scenes emerging from Antwerp workshops of painters such as Frans Francken or Frans Pourbus, which were rapidly disseminated across Europe through engraving — the stylistic analysis of the painting allows us to assign this portable altarpiece to Spanish production from the very end of the 16th century or the early 17th century. Christ’s body stands out violently from the background through the contrast between the whiteness of his skin and the darkness behind him. Christ’s posture, with his head falling under its own weight, along with the sublime treatment of the body (the intricate details of the skin’s texture and the delicate interplay of light and shadow are particularly striking), further enhances the dramatic aspect of the scene. The artist’s extremely fine and rapid brushstroke resembles that of a draftsman, as does the treatment of the faces, whose ghostly appearance results from an accumulation of small brushstrokes that blur the contours, adding an air of mystery that blends into the dramatic aspect of this artwork.