Spanish school; 17th century.

Spanish school; 17th century.
‘Christ’.
Carved and polychrome wood.
It presents faults.
Measurements: 40 x 11 x 9 cm.

The crucifixion of Christ is the central theme of Christian and especially Catholic iconography. Christ was subjected to the suffering that befell slaves who were fugitives or in rebellion, a condemnation that was essentially Roman but of Persian origin. This episode in the life of Christ is the most strictly proven historical fact and is also the main argument for the redemption of Christian doctrine: the blood of God incarnate as man is shed for the redemption of all sins. The representation of the crucifixion has undergone an evolution parallel to the liturgical and theological variations of Catholic doctrine in which we would like to point out three milestones: at first early Christian art omitted the representation of the human figure of Christ and the crucifixion was represented by means of the ‘Agnus Dei’, the mystical lamb carrying the cross of martyrdom. Until the 11th century Christ was represented crucified but alive and triumphant, with his eyes open, in accordance with the Byzantine rite, which did not consider the possibility of the existence of Christ's corpse. Later, under the theological consideration that the death of the Saviour is not due to an organic process but to an act of divine will, Christ is represented, as in our work, already dead with his eyes closed and his head fallen on his right shoulder, showing the sufferings of the Passion, provoking commiseration, as Psalm 22 refers to when it prays: ‘My God, my God, why hast thou forsaken me? (...) a mob of wicked men is near me: they have pierced my hands and my feet (...) they have divided my garments and cast lots for my tunic’.