Corpus from a Processional Cross

About this artwork

This powerful figure of Christ would have been placed at the center of an enameled and gilded cross to be carried in public processions. The sculptor, whose name is now unknown, probably derived the distinctive features of Christ, like his broad face and thick hair, from a well-known early 14th-century Tuscan Crucifixion, now lost. Even on a miniature scale, the tension of Christ’s body and his bowed head encourage an emotional response.