Crucifix

Abstract

This monumental crucifix, which was made in the early fourteenth century, is housed in the Museo Diocesano of Amalfi. The crucifix was originally above the high altar of the Basilica del Crocifisso (so called because of this work), which was renovated many times over the centuries and now houses the Museo Diocesano, and so the crucifix is actually still in its original location. This work has lost almost all of its polychromy and gesso, revealing the original wooden substrate in many places. The sculpture also would have originally had a wig, made of probably human hair or horsehair. The thin arms, pronounced ribs, furrowed forehead and open mouth depict the suffering of Christ, surely originally heightened originally by copious painted and sculpted outpourings of blood, but the figure shows none of the agonized torsion that characterizes the most graphically violent crucifixes of the period. This over life-sized sculpture is probably the "Crucifixum magnum" mentioned by a visitor to the church in 1484. Photograph(s) licensed under a Creative Commons Attribution 4.0 International License