Annibale Carracci’s (1560-1609) Crucifixion with Virgin and Saints represents the naturalism emerging from the Carracci, as expressed through northern Italian techniques. The painting was Annibale’s first major religious work when he was twenty-three years-old. Six figures, including the Virgin and the Saints, are gathered symmetrically, around the crucifix. Annibale depicts his figures with a naturalism, differing from the artifice of Mannerism (Grove DOA). The work includes Annibale’s early technique of using a coarse application of paint, derived from a Venetian painting influence (Grove DOA). The painting technique, characterized as ‘informal,’ was a new form of representing religious work (Grove DOA). Annibale, with his family members, opposed Mannerism, leading them to adopt north Italian naturalism and colore. Annibale working in Bologna aligns to Cardinal Gabriele Paleotti, from Bologna, who was writing on art’s use for the Counter-Reformation, during the Council of Trent (Drogin and Harris). The straightforward manner, along with the dramatic poses and expressions for clarity, connects to the Counter-Reformation aim of teaching the faithful, addressed by Annibale with naturalism.