Crucifix

Crucifix first haif of the 13th century Carved and painted wood; 2.20m. (h)x2.05 cm Church of San Pietro a Petrognano, since 1933 in the Church of San Giovanni Battista in Jerusalem in San Donnino A true unicum in a survey of sculpture, this astonishing image of the Christus triumphans, namely of the Christ who triumphs over death, has always attracted a lot of attention from the critics, stili without a really decisive proposal. When it was still in the Petrognano church, this large crucifix, despite its ends having been sawed, was described as a roof support, almost as if the were a telamon (Carocci, 1933). In accordance with it, its original provenance has been imagined to surely be elsewhere, perhaps in some important abbatial center or in some relevant town church. In a perfect balance between painting and sculpture, the spectacular image of Christ, with open hands and parallel feet, is resting on a cross where a precious pictorial decoration appears that in antiquity must have continued on the cross ends, almost certainly with figures. A smooth, soft and sensitive shaping defines the athletic and well-proportioned body of a young Christ, covered only by a loincloth made from plastered and painted cloth. The oval face with the hair pushed back, makes a strong impression because of its fixed look with the eyes wide open, while the small fleshy mouth opens almost as if to speak. As we were saying, among the proposed attributions that place this sculpture sometimes with models relating to the style of the court of King Frederick II and by Nicola Pisano, sometimes to those of Arnolfo di Cambio or those with a German culture, sometimes by the Master of San Martino for its pictorial refinement, none seems to truly help contextualize the work. Even today the decorative similarities verified with Pisan crosses from the first half of the 13h century and by Berlinghiero seem to be the only reliable data on which to base a possible attribution.