Crucifix (Michelangelo)
The crucifix of Santo Spirito from 1492/93 is a polychrome wooden sculpture by Michelangelo . It measures 139 × 135 cm and hangs in the sacristy of the Church of Santo Spirito ( Church of the Holy Spirit) in Florence . The sculpture was created in Michelangelo's youth and is considered his first masterpiece .
The crucifix comes from the time Michelangelo was staying in the Santo Spirito monastery. Through the intercession of Piero de 'Medici , Michelangelo had the opportunity to study the bodies of the monastery hospital. Through these investigations he succeeded in perfecting human representations in a naturalistic way. As a thank you, he designed this wooden crucifix for the monastery, which is now on display in its original place above the altar. After the French Revolution , it found its way into the rooms of the Santo Spirito Monastery. The rediscovery and identification of the sculpture was achieved in 1962 by the German art historian Margrit Lisner . The sculpture was restored in 1963/64 and then exhibited in the Casa Buonarroti museum. The crucifix has been on display in the sacristy of Santo Spirito since Christmas 2000.
description
The sculpture was made from a block of linden wood. Linden wood is very suitable for carving and was also used in other Florentine workshops around 1400. The figure with the body and face of a boy was made in "admirable perfection", with a 14 year old probably serving as a model. For the then Florentine mayor Savonarola , the reason for choosing the body of a child as a model for the crucified Christ was probably that Christ should be given a gentle, tender and noble appearance; it reflects the beauty and describes the soul.
The realistic position of the figure is caused by the position of the feet nailed to the cross. This twist causes the legs to overlap, while the feet rest flat on the suppedaneum (supporting footboard), keeping the shoulders and chest closer to the cross. The sculptor was probably thinking of viewing from the front, but a naturalistic view is also guaranteed from other perspectives. The modeling of the body was carried out in anatomically perfect perfection from both the front and the back. This finding suggests that the artist could study the shape of the human body in a similar position in reality.
The now completely naked figure of Jesus is missing the original loincloth, which was not carved, but consisted of fabric, from which fiber remnants could be detected in the old paint layer during the restoration in 1999. The originally existing crown of thorns is also missing today.
Giorgio Vasari states that this wooden cross was highly valued immediately after completion. It was placed in the church by the then prior Niccolò Bichiellini over an arch opposite the main altar of the church. This altar is the work of Giovanni Battista Caccini and was erected in the early 16th century.
This work is one of two crucifixes that Michelangelo is said to have created in his youth. The second, only 41.3 × 39.7 cm² in size, was acquired by the Italian state in 2008, but numerous art historians have questioned its authorship.
restoration
The first restoration of the crucifix was made in 1963. This intervention led to the exposure of the original colors, hidden under a thick coat of paint that must have been applied around 1800. In 1999 a new restoration began. Commissioned by the municipal museums of the city of Florence, it turned out to be unexpectedly difficult. The cost of the restoration was covered by the Sparkasse Florenz, with support from the city. The aim was to present the sculpture in the exhibition “Giovinezza di Michelangelo (Youth of Michelangelo)”. As the work progressed, the restoration became more complicated, and it seemed appropriate to strive for a “thorough renovation” of the workpiece with its fragile painted surface. All old paintwork residues were removed, including those that had not been removed during the 1963 restoration.
The 1999 restoration gave the sculpture its clarity and legibility back and shows what is believed to be an authentic color scheme. The complex task of removing all traces of the overpainting from the 19th century led to the exposure of the richly painted details such as drops of blood on the skin, strands of hair falling on Jesus' shoulders and fine hair on the chest, stomach and armpits. The hair of the Christ figure was the most damaged area. It had not been tackled during the restoration in 1963 and still retained the old overpainting, under which the original was preserved, which was very fragile due to the way it was manufactured. The hair is not carved, but applied and modeled in stucco and plaster.
literature
- Margrit Lisner : Michelangelo's crucifix from S. Spirito in Florence . In: Münchner Jahrbuch der Bildenden Kunst 15, 1964, pp. 7–36.
- Umberto Baldini: Michelangelo Buonarroti. The sculpture of Michelangelo . Rizzoli Verlag, 1982, p.
- Hellmut Wohl (Ed.): The Life of Michelangelo . Pennsylvania State University Press, University Park Pennsylvania 1999, ISBN 0-271-04483-7 , pp. 17 (English, limited preview in Google Book Search).
- Kathleen Weil-Garris Brandt, Cristina Acidini Luchinat (Ed.): Giovinezza di Michelangelo . ArtificioSkira, Florence 1999, ISBN 88-8118-568-7 .
Web links
Individual evidence
- ↑ a b c d Culture Office of the City of Florence: Torna in Santo Spirito il Crocifisso attribuito a Michelangelo , December 20, 2000 (Italian)
- ↑ Rit Nosotro: Michelangelo, 1475–1564, Sculptor and Painter ( Memento of the original from June 26, 2012 in the Internet Archive ) Info: The archive link was inserted automatically and has not yet been checked. Please check the original and archive link according to the instructions and then remove this notice. on hyperhistory, 2003; michelangelo.com ( Memento of the original from June 26, 2012 in the Internet Archive ) Info: The archive link has been inserted automatically and has not yet been checked. Please check the original and archive link according to the instructions and then remove this notice. .
- ↑ Eva Klausen: Suspicious price drop. In: Handelsblatt of March 2, 2012.
