Crucifix
c. 1646
Medium
Bronze, pearwood with ebonizing and staining
Dimensions
188.9 × 75.6 cm (74 × 30 in.); Corpus: 77.5 × 59.2 cm (30 1/2 × 23 in.)
Classification
bronze
Department
Painting and Sculpture of Europe
Museum
Art Institute of Chicago
Accession Number
182379
Rights
Public Domain
About this artwork
Bronze, wood with ebonizing and staining This expertly cast bronze is one of the finest surviving versions of a lost silver crucifix that Alessandro Algardi made for Pope Innocent X in 1646. Jesus’s expression displays the agonized emotion caused by his torture on the cross, yet his body appears graceful and idealized. The cross is made of stained and ebonized pearwood and appears to be original, with the drilled holes at the bottom most likely used to affix it on an altar.