Crucified Christ (Christo Morto)
after Giambologna, Flemish and Italian, born 1529 - 1608
late 17th or 18th century
Gilded bronze
Overall: 6 13/16 × 5 5/8 × 1 1/4 in. (17.3 × 14.3 × 3.2 cm)
Overall: 6 13/16 × 5 5/8 × 1 1/4 in. (17.3 × 14.3 × 3.2 cm)
Weight: 242 g (0.5 lb.)
Hood Museum of Art, Dartmouth: Gift of Michael Hall Esq. in honor of Roger Arvid Anderson, Class of 1968
S.993.10.2
Geography
Place Made: Italy, Europe
Period
1600-1800
Object Name
Sculpture
Research Area
Sculpture
On view
Inscriptions
Not signed.
Label
The image of Jesus on the cross is central to Christian worship and prompts viewers to consider his ultimate sacrifice for the salvation of humanity. Made centuries apart, these crucifixes use valuable metals to suggest both the divinity and the preciousness of Christ. Each gives dimensionality to Christ’s emaciated body, prompting the viewer to imagine the physical pain and suffering of his death. The three crosses would have been part of composite objects with larger roles in religious practice. The Limoges cross may have been affixed to a pyx, a box for consecrated wafers, while the largest cross has a notch where it was elevated on a staff to be carried in processions. Meanwhile, the fully three-dimensional body of Christ was once nailed to a cross, perhaps for private devotional use.
From the 2024 exhibition Living with Sculpture: Presence and Power in Europe, 1400–1750, curated by Elizabeth Rice Mattison, Andrew W. Mellon Curator of Academic Programming and Curator of European Art, and Ashley Offill, Curator of Collections
Course History
ARTH 27.02, Living Stone: Sculpture in Early Modern Italy, Elizabeth Kassler-Taub, Winter 2022
ARTH 27.02, Living Stone: Sculpture in Early Modern Italy, Elizabeth Kassler-Taub, Winter 2022
ARTH 27.02, Living Stone: Sculpture in Early Modern Italy, Elizabeth Kassler-Taub, Winter 2022
Art History 20.04, Faith and Empire, Beth Mattison, Spring 2023
Exhibition History
Ivan Albright Gallery, Hood Museum of Art, Dartmouth College, Hanover, New Hampshire, July 29, 1994-January 14, 1996.
Living with Sculpture: Presence and Power in Europe, 1400–1750, Citrin Family Gallery and Engles Family Gallery, Hood Museum of Art, Dartmouth College, Hanover, New Hampshire, March 23, 2024–March 22, 2025.
Publication History
Charles Avery, Giambologna, the Complete Sculpture, Mt. Kisco, N.Y., 1987, pp. 264-65, no. 96, fig. 307.
Provenance
Michael Hall, New York, New York; given to present collection, 1993.
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