The Crucifixion (illumination from book of hours)

The subject is depicted symbolically as most details related to the story are reduced to essentials and only three figures are included: Christ, the Virgin Mary, and St. John the Evangelist. Traditionally, these are often the only human figures present in Crucifixion scenes. On the ground near the base of the cross is a skull, in reference to the skull of Adam. The figures are pushed forward to the edge of the picture plane to stress there importance, while the background landscape is simple so as to not visually compete with the foreground figures. An unusual feature is the smaller scale of Christ in comparison to the other figures.https://commons.und.edu/lam-all/1191/thumbnail.jp