Crucifix

Abstract

This crucifix in Sant'Agostino in Montepulciano has been attributed convincingly by Margrit Lisner to Antonio da Sangallo the elder, who was in Montepulciano to oversee the construction of the church of San Biagio (1518-28). Showing Christ as a Herculean muscle man is typical of Sangallo's work and contrasts with the emaciated image of Christ on the Cross that was used in the trecento, and even with the classically-inspired, but still slender depictionsof Christ in Brunelleschi's crucifix in Santa Maria Novella, which was widely copied in the quattrocento. It looks to be made of painted wood, with metal nails and a loincloth made of a piece of fabric, dipped in gesso and affixed to the wooden body. Photograph(s) licensed under a Creative Commons Attribution 4.0 International License.