Christ of St John of the Cross

The Salvador Dali masterpiece Christ of St John of the Cross first went on show at Kelvingrove on 23 June 1952, and has ever since aroused admiration, criticism and controversy. The striking angle of the crucified Christ on the Cross, the eerie contrast of light and dark, and the magical and effortless surface effects all make an unforgettable impression on the viewer.

The strange title refers to Dali's principal inspiration for the painting - a pen and ink drawing made by the Spanish Carmelite friar who was canonised as St John of The Cross (1542–1591). The drawing intrigued Dali when he saw it preserved in the Convent at Avila, as it was made after the Saint had a vision in which he saw the Crucifixion as from above, looking down.

Dali proceeded to paint the Crucifixion set above the rocky harbour of his home village of Port Lligat in Spain, with the enigmatic addition of boats and figures copied from pictures by Velazquez and Le Nain.

The painting caused controversy for a variety of reasons. Modern art critics felt it was a backward step, as it was painted in such a traditional style and thought it was another notorious stunt by the artist.


Students from Glasgow School of Art presented a petition at the City Chambers, as they felt the money could be better spent encouraging local artists and by providing them with exhibition space.

The price of £8,200 was considered high, although it was reduced from £12,000 and included copyright, which turned out to be a masterstroke by the Director of Glasgow Museums, Dr Tom J Honeyman. The reproduction fees from print and postcard sales over the years have justified Honeyman's decision many times over, but the prestige bestowed on Glasgow and the civic art collection has been incalculable.

Councillors on the Museums Committee responded with enthusiasm to Honeyman's daring proposal to buy the picture - painted in 1951 - after he saw it in Lefevre's gallery in London. The purchase cost the ratepayers of Glasgow nothing, as it was acquired using the last of the fund set up from the profits of the great Kelvingrove International Exhibition of 1901, to buy objects and works of art for the city's museums.

The painting has been lent to several exhibitions in Europe and America and has been displayed in different locations within Glasgow. First shown in a corner room at Kelvingrove along with other religious paintings, it was later moved to a special curtained setting on the balcony and then became the closing feature of one of the vaulted colonnades of the upstairs corridors.

A moment of notoriety occurred in 1961 when a mentally disturbed visitor attacked and tore the canvas, but it has been carefully restored since then, to be admired by countless millions.

In 1990 it became the centrepiece of the Art of the Church gallery at Kelvingrove, and in 1993 it was transferred to the new St Mungo Museum of Religious Life and Art beside Glasgow Cathedral, and came back to Kelvingrove for the reopening after restoration in July 2006.

In 2005 Christ of St John of the Cross was voted Scotland’s favourite painting in a poll conducted by The Herald newspaper.

Film Footage
You can view film footage of Christ of St John of the Cross being hung in Kelvingrove by following the link under Related Downloads on the right hand side of this page. You will need QuickTime Viewer installed on your computer to download and view the files, and the software can be downloaded for free from Apple's website: www.apple.com/quicktime/download