Attributed to Guglielmo della Porta

Attributed to GIUGLIELMO DELLA PORTA (Lombardy, 1500 - Rome, 1577).
"Christ crucified".
Bronze and ebony base.
Measurements: 43 x 36 x 10 cm (Christ); 121 x 54 x 27 cm (total).
Crucified Christ in round bulk made in gilded bronze seated on an ebony base and cross. As for the sculpture, in this case we observe how the sculptor uses only three nails, thus accentuating the dramatism of the scene, which is enhanced by the elongation of the upper extremities that reflect how Christ supports the entire load of his body, with his face down in exhaustion. Stylistically, there are various characteristics typical of Guglielmo della Porta's torso, the way the cloth is made and the curvature of the body with the legs bent to the right.
Guglielmo della Porta was a renowned Italian sculptor, architect and restorer of Mannerism. Della Porta was the son of Cristoforo della Porta and his wife Caterina. He received his artistic education from his uncle Giovanni Battista della Porta in Genoa. He worked for the cathedral of Genoa during his early years of artistic training already in 1531 together with his brother Giacomo and under the direction of his uncle on the statues of the chapel of St. John the Baptist. In 1537 he moved to Rome and became a disciple of Michelangelo, thus obtaining a greater number of commissions. An example of this is the bust he made for Pope Paul III in 1547, after his death, and the tomb of St. Peter, which was his main work, which occupied him from 1555 to 1575, although it was later revised by Bernini. His career as a sculptor at the court of the Farnese was due to his contact with Mario Maccarone, the supervisor of papal building projects. In 1540, as Della Porta he designed the tomb of Vincenzo degli Ubaldi in the church of Santi XII Apostoli. Della Porta was a lay brother of the Cistercians and was called from 1547 to the papal coinage. Among other things, his studio was commissioned to complement the legs of the torso of Farnese, which was found in 1546. The result was so convincing to his contemporaries that following Michelangelo's own advice he was approved to link the ancient limbs of the statue, which had been excavated. Today his works can be found in different places of great historical and artistic relevance, such as his sculpture of Moses in San Lorenzo de Fiori, or for example his works in the Giuliano chapel of the cathedral of Genoa, in Santa Maria del Popolo, and his bust of Paul III which is in the Museum of Capodimonte.