Narrator: Medieval Christian church paintings helped focus worshippers’ prayers, and told stories – especially important when most people couldn’t read. 

In this Italian painting, figures around the crucified Christ react with strong emotion. To the left, Christ’s mother Mary, dressed in blue, faints in distress. Curator Isabella Lores-Chavez: 

Isabella Lores-Chavez: And behind her is one of the most expressive figures in the whole composition - this figure of Mary Magdalene with her arms raised in despair. She's really conveying such suffering and such anguish.  

Narrator: Real gold leaf is used for haloes and background. Imagine how it would’ve gleamed in the candlelight. 

Isabella Lores-Chavez: The gold really serves to create a sense of this very precious spiritual depiction. 

Narrator: Even more expensive would have been the lapis lazuli stone used to create the brilliant blue of Mary’s robe. 

Isabella Lores-Chavez: And lapis lazuli came from Afghanistan and from other parts of Central Asia. So it's a really great reminder of how interconnected Europe was with other parts of the world already in the Middle Ages. 

Narrator: The painting was originally part of a much bigger altarpiece. Made of many different panels, its smaller scenes helped illustrate Christ’s life - a bit like a graphic novel sequence.