Crucified Christ
Unknown Artist
late 1300s
Medium
painted and gilded wood (poplar)
Dimensions
211 × 154.9 × 32.2 cm
Classification
Sculpture
Department
Medieval Art
Museum
Cleveland Museum of Art
Credit
Andrew R. and Martha Holden Jennings Fund
Accession Number
1968.33
About this artwork
This carved wooden corpus of Christ was covered with a layer of linen and painted with vivid colors. Given its large scale it would have been intended for display in a church. Most likely it was suspended high over an altar facing the choir. During the Middle Ages, a monumental cross was often hung above the altar, and a smaller cross placed upon it. While not required by the liturgy, these crosses were visible symbols of the subject and focus of the Mass. The style of the corpus would suggest ...