Object Image

Crucifix on a Golgotha Base

Although this crucifix is a powerfully direct devotional image, its corpus and base are quite obviously from different workshops. Giuseppe de Levis, signer of the picturesque base, could never have managed the finesse of the corpus. It is likely, however—even if it cannot be proved—that the base was made with this particular corpus in mind. They appear to be contemporaneous, and they form a most harmonious composition. It is not too bold to speculate that the first owner of the corpus prized it enough to bring it to Giuseppe de Levis's Veronese workshop to have it mounted.

The gilt corpus is both austere and elegant, the hair framing the face in soft waves. The head of Christ is set almost str...

c. 1590-1600
Corpus: gilt bronze; cross and base: bronze
8.0 x 11.0in
1981.76a-c
Image and text © Metropolitan Museum of Art, 2019

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The Metropolitan Museum of Art
Permanent collection