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Description

Italian school; first half of the seventeenth century. "Expiring Christ". Silver plated bronze. Measurements: 29 x 28 x 5 cm; 38 cm (base). The Crucifix, of great executive quality, is part of the group of bronzes of this type of the Giambolo-Gnesco circle, datable between the late sixteenth and early seventeenth century. The work proposed here presents similarities with well-known examples such as: two crucifixes in the Convent of the Santissima Annunziata, Florence; the one in the Smith College Museum of Art, Northampton; another in a private collection, Siena (reproduced in P. Torriti, fig. 77); another in a private collection, Siena (reproduced in P. Torriti, fig. 77); and another in the Smith College Museum of Art, Northampton. Torriti, fig. 77); three other examples in private collections (Exhibition catalog: "Giambologna 1529-1608", 1978, nos. 99, 100, 101); also the hybrid variant of the "semi-living Christ" in the Municipal Museum of Douai. Because of the linearity of the folds of the loincloth, it is revealed as a work of the generation after Giambologna, who preferred flat fabric surfaces. It is distinguished from the examples cited above by its vigorous anatomical articulation and the refined and detailed execution of the features of the beautiful face and hair. While in the examples we have mentioned Christ turns his head upwards and to the right, the Christ we are examining is the only example in which the head is reclined to the left. head is reclined to the left, in accordance with the graphic archetype from which the living Christ of Giambologna's sculpture derives, that is, the Crucifix designed by Michelangelo for Vittoria Colonna around 1540 (London, British Museum, inv. 1895-9-15-504r). Cf. Giambologna 1529- 1608. Sculptor to the Medici, exhibition catalog Edinburgh, London, Vienna, edited by C. Avery, A. Radcliffe, London 1978, nos. 98-104, pp.140-142. (K.J. Watson); P. Torriti, Pietro Tacca da Carrara, Genoa, 1984; M. Tommasi, Pietro Tacca, Pisa, 1995; E. D. Schmidt, Scultura sacra nella Toscana del Cinquecento, in Storia delle arti in Toscana: il Cinquecento, edited by R. P. Ciardi, Florence, 2000, pp. 231-254, in particular p.248 with note 83. Crucifixions and crucifixes have appeared in the history of art and popular culture since before the era of the pagan Roman Empire. The crucifixion of Jesus has been depicted in religious art since the fourth century. It is one of the most recurring themes in Christian art and the one with the most obvious iconography. Although Christ is sometimes depicted clothed, it is usual to represent his naked body, albeit with the genitals covered with a purity cloth (perizonium); full nudes are very rare, but prominent (Brunelleschi, Michelangelo, Cellini). The conventions of representation of the different attitudes of the crucified Christ are designated by the Latin expressions Christus triumphans ("triumphant" -not to be confused with the Maiestas Domini or the Pantocrator-), Christus patiens ("resigned" -not to be confused with the Christ of patience-) and Christus dolens ("suffering" -not to be confused with the Vir dolorum-). The triumphans is represented alive, with open eyes and erect body; the patiens is represented dead, with the will totally emptied (kenosis), the head bowed, the face with serene expression, the eyes closed and the body arched, showing the five wounds; the dolens is represented in a similar way to the patiens, but with a gesture of pain, particularly in the mouth.

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Italian school; first half of the seventeenth century. "Expiring Christ". Silver plated bronze. Measurements: 29 x 28 x 5 cm; 38 cm (base). The Crucifix, of great executive quality, is part of the group of bronzes of this type of the Giambolo-Gnesco circle, datable between the late sixteenth and early seventeenth century. The work proposed here presents similarities with well-known examples such as: two crucifixes in the Convent of the Santissima Annunziata, Florence; the one in the Smith College Museum of Art, Northampton; another in a private collection, Siena (reproduced in P. Torriti, fig. 77); another in a private collection, Siena (reproduced in P. Torriti, fig. 77); and another in the Smith College Museum of Art, Northampton. Torriti, fig. 77); three other examples in private collections (Exhibition catalog: "Giambologna 1529-1608", 1978, nos. 99, 100, 101); also the hybrid variant of the "semi-living Christ" in the Municipal Museum of Douai. Because of the linearity of the folds of the loincloth, it is revealed as a work of the generation after Giambologna, who preferred flat fabric surfaces. It is distinguished from the examples cited above by its vigorous anatomical articulation and the refined and detailed execution of the features of the beautiful face and hair. While in the examples we have mentioned Christ turns his head upwards and to the right, the Christ we are examining is the only example in which the head is reclined to the left. head is reclined to the left, in accordance with the graphic archetype from which the living Christ of Giambologna's sculpture derives, that is, the Crucifix designed by Michelangelo for Vittoria Colonna around 1540 (London, British Museum, inv. 1895-9-15-504r). Cf. Giambologna 1529- 1608. Sculptor to the Medici, exhibition catalog Edinburgh, London, Vienna, edited by C. Avery, A. Radcliffe, London 1978, nos. 98-104, pp.140-142. (K.J. Watson); P. Torriti, Pietro Tacca da Carrara, Genoa, 1984; M. Tommasi, Pietro Tacca, Pisa, 1995; E. D. Schmidt, Scultura sacra nella Toscana del Cinquecento, in Storia delle arti in Toscana: il Cinquecento, edited by R. P. Ciardi, Florence, 2000, pp. 231-254, in particular p.248 with note 83. Crucifixions and crucifixes have appeared in the history of art and popular culture since before the era of the pagan Roman Empire. The crucifixion of Jesus has been depicted in religious art since the fourth century. It is one of the most recurring themes in Christian art and the one with the most obvious iconography. Although Christ is sometimes depicted clothed, it is usual to represent his naked body, albeit with the genitals covered with a purity cloth (perizonium); full nudes are very rare, but prominent (Brunelleschi, Michelangelo, Cellini). The conventions of representation of the different attitudes of the crucified Christ are designated by the Latin expressions Christus triumphans ("triumphant" -not to be confused with the Maiestas Domini or the Pantocrator-), Christus patiens ("resigned" -not to be confused with the Christ of patience-) and Christus dolens ("suffering" -not to be confused with the Vir dolorum-). The triumphans is represented alive, with open eyes and erect body; the patiens is represented dead, with the will totally emptied (kenosis), the head bowed, the face with serene expression, the eyes closed and the body arched, showing the five wounds; the dolens is represented in a similar way to the patiens, but with a gesture of pain, particularly in the mouth.

Estimate 15 000 - 18 000 EUR
Starting price 11 000 EUR

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