MASP

By Luciano Migliaccio
The form of Christ deceased has its head sagging towards the right, the loins covered by bandages and the crossed feet are pierced by a single nail. Considering the very crude execution of the skull, there may originally have been some artificial hair or a crown of thorns. The arms were carved separately and then fitted to the body. Lack of proportion between the thumb and the other fingers suggests that the latter may have been remodeled or added at a later date. There are traces of polychromy: red for the blood on the arms, and blue over reddish-brown for the bandage. The cross, like the figure, is overlaid by a canvas whose borders are adorned by an intaglio featuring four-lobed floral motifs. The characteristics and the dimensions of the work suggest that it was a processional crucifix, intended for the wall of an altar or of a sacristy. This kind of image became very common in Italian churches as from the end of the 13th century, after the penitential processions of the Bianchi fraternities. One can place the work in the first decades of the 15th century, as also points the graceful modeling of the perisoma. The shape of the cross repeats that of the second half of the 13th century and suggests that the sculpture may be a replica of an older model from the local religious cult. In fact, the stylistic details fit prototypes by Sienese sculptor Lorenzo Maitani (c.1275-1330), such as the crucifixes in the church of Saint Francis in Orvieto, Umbria, and in the sacristy of the cathedral there. According to the inventory record, the work is most likely to have come from this region. Typical features of Maitani’s models are: the head turned to the right; the handling of the muscles of the torso and diaphragm; and the swollen wound on the foot pierced by the nail. Nevertheless, the approach used in Maitani’s workshop sketches has been repeated in a facile way in the Masp’s crucifix, suggesting that it was executed in the following decades by an artist copying works already illustrious in Siena: possibly the Maestro del Crocefisso di San Pietro, in Ovile (Siena) (Lisner 1970, n. 69, p. 30). This work, like the statues executed by Domenico de’ Cori, has details also seen in the work exhibited at the Masp, such as the frontal view of both legs, and the proportions and handling of the toes. The Crucifix of the Public Palace, known as the Crucifix of Montaperti, which according to Lisner is from the end of the 14th century, and the Crucifix of the Compagnia dei Disciplinati of Siena – as well as other sculptures with similar features to our own – belong to the Sienese tradition and the latter has the same crude execution of the top of the head, which is covered by artificial hair.

— Luciano Migliaccio, 1998

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