Crucifix

Abstract

This crucifix in the Dominican sanctuary and pilgrimage destination of Santa Maria della Quercia on the outskirts of Viterbo was made sometime before 1496, when is the Beata Lucia da Narni is recorded as having remained in ecstasy before it for two hours. Other documents record the crucifix being moved to different locations within the church over the centuries. In her 2016 book, Sara Cavatorti describes the crucifix as heavily overpainted with visible cracks in many places, including the legs, torso, and next to the mouth. The crucifix must have been subject to a major conservation/restoration treatment very soon after Cavatorti examined it, as an article published on May 7, 2016 hails the return of the crucifix to the church after restoration. The before and after photographs reveal the cracks described by Cavatorti, which suggest the crucifix was made from multiple pieces of wood, as well as that the veins were made from laying strings in the gesso, before applying paint to the surface. (In some areas of damage, the ends of the string were visible.) Also visible is damage throughout from woodboring insects. AFter the restoration, the cracks and damage are no longer visible, suggesting infills and inpainting must have occured. It is not clear how much of the original paint surface survives and is currently visible. As Cavatorti notes, a round hole in the middle of the chin likely was a part of a mechanism for moving the tongue. The tongue is visible, separately sculpted, within the cavity of the mouth. In other crucifixes by Giovanni Teutonico and likely here, the tongue was hinged and fitted with a mechanism so that it could be moved up and down during sacred reenactments of the Crucifixion. Photograph(s) licensed under a Creative Commons Attribution 4.0 International License.