Crucifix

Abstract

In the first chapel of the right aisle of the church of San Luigi dei Francesi in Rome is a seventeenth-century wooden polychrome crucifix. The crucifix features painted blood splatters in several locations, including dripping from Christ’s face and neck due to the crown of thorns, from his wrists, from the wound in his torso, and at his feet. The protruding veins on Christ’s arms, torso, and legs were likely modelled into the plaster, possibly using cord, before the polychromy was applied. Notably, the blood trail does not extend onto the striped-patterned loincloth. There is visible damage to the polychromy on the knees, hands, and feet. Three fingers on Christ’s left hand are damaged. In front of the crucifix is a tabernacle made of polychrome marble, lapis lazuli, jasper, and alabaster. Photograph(s) licensed under a Creative Commons Attribution 4.0 International Licence.