Description:

Important Corpus Christi
Italy/Tuscany
Around 1330
Carved hardwood
Original, closed polychrome paint
Height 100 cm, width 90 cm

The highest form of art in the Middle Ages is design in three dimensions. Sculpture is considered the crowning achievement of artistic creativity. Sculptures are the creative element in this era. In particular, Jesus Christ on the cross is the most important representation in the early period. While the graphic, painted or relief portraits are usually called crucifixions, crucifix refers to the image of the Savior on the cross in the form of a single, representational sculpture. The Latin word "crucifixus" designates only the body of the crucified (Corpus, Corpus Christi). Sometimes the cross itself has been lost and only the corpus has been preserved as a cruciform sculpture, or only a corpus of Christ was created as a work of art in the first place.

How can such a gaunt, feeble-looking man carry the burden of the whole world?
This wonderful Corpus Christi from around 1330 is museum quality in its expression and state of preservation. The slender body is shaped in a slight S-line. The rib cage is pronounced and shows the individual ribs. The legs run parallel for a long time and cross only far down at the feet to form the three-nail type. His thin arms are stretched upwards and thus illustrate the hanging on the cross and the suffering associated with it. The paint, a very important feature of medieval sculptures, is in good condition. It is largely preserved. The crown of thorns sits on the inclined head. This makes clear the burden that the tortured body has to bear. The loincloth appears simple, but is of simple elegance and underlines the delicate appearance. The long folds of the fabric, falling down to the knees at the sides, testify to the early period of creation.

n this sculpture, the artist has created a masterpiece that has survived for centuries and would find its rightful place in any great museum in the world.

A museum quality carved Corpus Christi from Tuscany, created between 1330 and 1350. The considerable size of 110 x 101 cm suggests that it was positioned in a significant place within a sacred context.
The crucified in the three-nail type is distinguished by the strongly elongated limbs, typical of the beginning of the 14th century. This high degree of stylization is particularly evident on the torso, where the sunken body dramatically displays the prominent ribcage. At the same time, the slight sway of the hips of the otherwise rectilinear body gives the figure a graceful air of floating away. Contrasting with this decidedly subtle and only glimpsed movement is the characteristically rigid, low-slung perizonium wrapped tightly around the hips. The withdrawn expansive effect of the lower body is broken, however, by the posture of the arms in the manner of a branch cross. Nevertheless, the Christ figure is predominantly introverted; the bowed head with introspectively closed eyes and the single lock of hair falling over Jesus' right shoulder clearly express this. From the blocky wreath around his head - his attribute of the crown of thorns, which mockingly identifies him as the "King of the Jews" - thick drops of blood spill down his forehead in a drastic manner. This is additionally underlined by the gaping stain on the left side; here the Roman soldier Longinus pierced it with his lance to determine whether Jesus was still alive. Therefore, the moment captured here by the sculptor is already the deceased Jesus.
The sculpture recalls the conventions of Byzantine depictions of the crucifixion, which were adopted and transmitted especially in Tuscany. The expressiveness of the crucified increases the drama of the representation, probably placed at the high altar or above the church congregation. Therefore designed to be viewed from below, viewers became active witnesses to the crucifixion of the Messiah.

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November 15, 2021 5:00 PM CET
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