Crucifix

Discussion

FROM THE ART INSTITUTE OF CHICAGO’S CATALOG

In late-medieval Italian churches, a monumental crucifix was often attached to the top of a major altarpiece or placed above the rood screen that separated the public nave from the church sanctuary. In either location, it was a focal point of public worship. The painter of this outstanding example was a leading Florentine artist of the middle of the 13th century, named after another painted crucifix in the Museo del Bigallo, Florence. Although his style retains the traditional linear patterning associated with Byzantine models, he employed a new, more natural system of lighting. Also traditional are the smaller figures amplifying the Passion narrative—the Virgin and John the Evangelist flanking the cross, Christ as redeemer above it, and the crowing rooster at its foot referring to Saint Peter’s denial of Christ.

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