Christ as the Man of Sorrows
sculptor
Unknown
Dateabout 1500
Place MadeUmbria, Italy, Europe
MediumPolychromed and gilded terracotta
Dimensions36.2 x 26 x 18 cm (14 1/4 x 10 1/4 x 7 1/16 in.)
ClassificationsSculpture
Credit LineIsabella Stewart Gardner Museum, Boston
Accession numberS27e35
eMuseum ID727917
EmbARK ObjectID12505
TMS Source ID1611
Last Updated8/14/24
Status
Not on viewWeb CommentaryThis plaque depicts Christ as the Man of Sorrows, a devotional image that displays in condensed form elements of Christ’s Passion: the cross, tomb, wounds, and instruments of torture. Rendered in humble clay and painted a plain dark color, such a severe work may relate to restrictions on excess advocated by the 15th-century Dominican friar Girolamo Savonarola.
BibliographyNotesGilbert Wendel Longstreet and Morris Carter. General Catalogue (Boston: 1935), p. 247. (as Italian, late 15th century)
Cornelius C. Vermeule III et al. Sculpture in the Isabella Stewart Gardner Museum (Boston, 1977), p. 122, no. 150. (as Umbrian, 16th century)
Cornelius C. Vermeule III et al. Sculpture in the Isabella Stewart Gardner Museum (Boston, 1977), p. 122, no. 150. (as Umbrian, 16th century)
MarksNotesInscribed (on the frame, upside down): MORTVVS SINE CRIMINE XPS (Christ died without sin)
Inscribed (crucifix plaque): INRI (Latin acronym for Iesus Nazarenus Rex Iudaeorum, Jesus of Nazareth King of the Jews)
Inscribed (crucifix plaque): INRI (Latin acronym for Iesus Nazarenus Rex Iudaeorum, Jesus of Nazareth King of the Jews)
ProvenanceNotesPurchased by Isabella Stewart Gardner from the art dealer Mariano Rocchi, Perugia with a second terracotta (museum no. S27w9) for a total of $600 on 23 March 1903, through the painter Joseph Lindon Smith (1863-1950).
