Crucified Christ
sculptor
Unknown
Dateabout 1150
Place MadeCatalonia, Spain, Europe
MediumPainted wood
Dimensions111 x 94 cm (43 11/16 x 37 in.)
ClassificationsSculpture
Credit LineIsabella Stewart Gardner Museum, Boston
Accession numberS31e2
eMuseum ID719178
EmbARK ObjectID12002
TMS Source ID1151
Last Updated8/14/24
Status
Not on viewWeb CommentaryThis immensely moving image, with remnants of original pigment visible in the beard, eyes, and loin cloth, has taken on even greater pathos through centuries of wear and damage, which echo Christ’s suffering on the cross.
The sculpture was originally part of a much larger ensemble that depicted the body of the dead Christ being lowered from the cross. A large number of such sculptural groups were produced in small hill towns in Catalonia, to the north of Barcelona. It appears that the creativity of a few sculptural workshops in the region encouraged the production of these dramatic depictions.
While nothing is known of the ensemble to which this figure belonged, similar groups were made to be displayed over the high altar of local community churches. With nearly life-size, naturalistically painted figures, such depictions — almost re-enactments — of Christ’s removal from the cross provided dramatic narratives for congregations.
Source: Eye of the Beholder, edited by Alan Chong et al. (Boston: ISGM and Beacon Press, 2003): 23.
The sculpture was originally part of a much larger ensemble that depicted the body of the dead Christ being lowered from the cross. A large number of such sculptural groups were produced in small hill towns in Catalonia, to the north of Barcelona. It appears that the creativity of a few sculptural workshops in the region encouraged the production of these dramatic depictions.
While nothing is known of the ensemble to which this figure belonged, similar groups were made to be displayed over the high altar of local community churches. With nearly life-size, naturalistically painted figures, such depictions — almost re-enactments — of Christ’s removal from the cross provided dramatic narratives for congregations.
Source: Eye of the Beholder, edited by Alan Chong et al. (Boston: ISGM and Beacon Press, 2003): 23.
BibliographyNotesRaimond van Marle. "Twelfth-century French sculpture in America." Art in the America 10 (Dec. 1921), p. 3. (as Auvergne, late 12th century)
A. Kingsley Porter. Spanish Romanesque Sculpture, vol. 2 (Florence, 1928), pp. 17-18, pl. 74a. (as Catalan, late 12th-century)
David Rosen. "Restorations and forgeries." The Saturday Evening Post 202, no. 51 (21 June 1930), pp. 103/106.
Gilbert Wendel Longstreet and Morris Carter. General Catalogue (Boston, 1935), p. 281, pl. 7. (as "probably Spanish (Catalan); or perhaps French (from Auvergne)")
G. de Francovich. "Il Volto Santo di Lucca." Bolletino storico lucchese (1936), p. 7. (as south France)
Walter Cook, José Gudiol Ricart. Ars Hispaniae, vol. 6. Pintura e imagineria romanicas (Madrid, 1950), p. 317, fig. 320.
Ronald Hilton. Handbook of Hispanic Source Materials and Research Organizations in the United States (Stanford, California, 1956), p. 196. (as Catalan, 12th century)
“Notes, Records, Comments.” Gardner Museum Calendar of Events 7, no. 4 [5] (22 [29] Sep. 1963), p. 2. (as from "the region of Ribagorza," Catalan)
George L. Stout. Treasures from the Isabella Stewart Gardner Museum (Boston, 1969), p. 212. (as Spanish (Catalonia) or French (Auvergne))
Bernd Schälicke. Die Ikonographie der monumentalen Kreuzabnahmegruppen de Mittelalters in Spanien. Dissertation, Freie Universität, Berlin, 1975, p. 24, no. 6, fig. 20.
Rafael Bastardes. Les talles romàniques del sant Crist a Catalunya (Barcelona, 1977), pp. 72-77, ill.
Rafael Bastardes. Els davallaments romànics a Catalunya (Barcelona, 1980), pp. 156-60, ill.
Cornelius C. Vermeule III et al. Sculpture in the Isabella Stewart Gardner Museum (Boston, 1977), pp. 104-05, no. 136, ill.
Walter Cahn. "Medieval Sculpture" in James Thomas Herbert Baily (ed.). The Connoisseur: An Illustrated Magazine for Collectors, "Isabella Stewart Gardner Museum" (London, 1978), p. 22, fig. A.
Walter Cahn and Linda Seidel. Romanesque Scultpure in American Collections, vol. I: New England Museums (New York, 1978), no. 17, fig. 97.
Rollin van N. Hadley. Museums Discovered: The Isabella Stewart Gardner Museum. (Boston, 1981), 136-37, ill.
Edgar Hurkey. Das Bild des Gekreuzigten im Mittelalter: Untersuchungen zu Gruppierung, Entwicklung und Verbreitung anhand der Gewandmotive (Worms, 1983), p. 16, no. 64a, ill.
Mathias Delcor. "L'iconographie des descentes de croix, en Catalogne, à l'époque romane: Description, origine et signification." Les Cahiers de Saint-Michel de Cuxa 22 (1991), pp. 186-87, fig. 3.
Janice Mann. "A monumental Catalan crucifix." Bulletin of the Detroit Institute of Arts 71 (1997), p. 52, fig. 8.
Catalunya Romànica, vol. 26 (Barcelona, 1997), pp. 356-57, ill. (by Jaume Barrachina i Navarro)
C. Llarás Usón, in Catalunya Romànica, vol. 27 (Barcelona, 1998), p. 121, ill.
Alan Chong and Giovanna De Appolonia. The Art of the Cross: Medieval and Renaissance Piety in the Isabella Stewart Gardner Museum. Exh. cat. (Boston: Isabella Stewart Gardner Museum, 2001), pp. 6 ill., 20-21, 25, 27 n. 6, 55-59, cat. 2.
Alan Chong et al. (eds.) Eye of the Beholder: Masterpieces from the Isabella Stewart Gardner Museum (Boston, 2003), pp. 22-23, ill.
A. Kingsley Porter. Spanish Romanesque Sculpture, vol. 2 (Florence, 1928), pp. 17-18, pl. 74a. (as Catalan, late 12th-century)
David Rosen. "Restorations and forgeries." The Saturday Evening Post 202, no. 51 (21 June 1930), pp. 103/106.
Gilbert Wendel Longstreet and Morris Carter. General Catalogue (Boston, 1935), p. 281, pl. 7. (as "probably Spanish (Catalan); or perhaps French (from Auvergne)")
G. de Francovich. "Il Volto Santo di Lucca." Bolletino storico lucchese (1936), p. 7. (as south France)
Walter Cook, José Gudiol Ricart. Ars Hispaniae, vol. 6. Pintura e imagineria romanicas (Madrid, 1950), p. 317, fig. 320.
Ronald Hilton. Handbook of Hispanic Source Materials and Research Organizations in the United States (Stanford, California, 1956), p. 196. (as Catalan, 12th century)
“Notes, Records, Comments.” Gardner Museum Calendar of Events 7, no. 4 [5] (22 [29] Sep. 1963), p. 2. (as from "the region of Ribagorza," Catalan)
George L. Stout. Treasures from the Isabella Stewart Gardner Museum (Boston, 1969), p. 212. (as Spanish (Catalonia) or French (Auvergne))
Bernd Schälicke. Die Ikonographie der monumentalen Kreuzabnahmegruppen de Mittelalters in Spanien. Dissertation, Freie Universität, Berlin, 1975, p. 24, no. 6, fig. 20.
Rafael Bastardes. Les talles romàniques del sant Crist a Catalunya (Barcelona, 1977), pp. 72-77, ill.
Rafael Bastardes. Els davallaments romànics a Catalunya (Barcelona, 1980), pp. 156-60, ill.
Cornelius C. Vermeule III et al. Sculpture in the Isabella Stewart Gardner Museum (Boston, 1977), pp. 104-05, no. 136, ill.
Walter Cahn. "Medieval Sculpture" in James Thomas Herbert Baily (ed.). The Connoisseur: An Illustrated Magazine for Collectors, "Isabella Stewart Gardner Museum" (London, 1978), p. 22, fig. A.
Walter Cahn and Linda Seidel. Romanesque Scultpure in American Collections, vol. I: New England Museums (New York, 1978), no. 17, fig. 97.
Rollin van N. Hadley. Museums Discovered: The Isabella Stewart Gardner Museum. (Boston, 1981), 136-37, ill.
Edgar Hurkey. Das Bild des Gekreuzigten im Mittelalter: Untersuchungen zu Gruppierung, Entwicklung und Verbreitung anhand der Gewandmotive (Worms, 1983), p. 16, no. 64a, ill.
Mathias Delcor. "L'iconographie des descentes de croix, en Catalogne, à l'époque romane: Description, origine et signification." Les Cahiers de Saint-Michel de Cuxa 22 (1991), pp. 186-87, fig. 3.
Janice Mann. "A monumental Catalan crucifix." Bulletin of the Detroit Institute of Arts 71 (1997), p. 52, fig. 8.
Catalunya Romànica, vol. 26 (Barcelona, 1997), pp. 356-57, ill. (by Jaume Barrachina i Navarro)
C. Llarás Usón, in Catalunya Romànica, vol. 27 (Barcelona, 1998), p. 121, ill.
Alan Chong and Giovanna De Appolonia. The Art of the Cross: Medieval and Renaissance Piety in the Isabella Stewart Gardner Museum. Exh. cat. (Boston: Isabella Stewart Gardner Museum, 2001), pp. 6 ill., 20-21, 25, 27 n. 6, 55-59, cat. 2.
Alan Chong et al. (eds.) Eye of the Beholder: Masterpieces from the Isabella Stewart Gardner Museum (Boston, 2003), pp. 22-23, ill.
ProvenanceNotesPurchased by Isabella Stewart Gardner from the art dealer Joseph Brummer (1883-1947), New York for $20,000 on 3 July 1917.
