CORPUS

The sculptor of this fine and moving crucifix was first identified in 1970 by M. Lisner and subsequently given its name by Aldo Galli in 2007. At the head of a Florentine workshop, the master is believed to have been active in the years 1475 to 1520. In 2013 Traversi identified around forty pieces by the master, including corpuses in San Lorenzo and Santa Maria del Fiore (F. Traversi, ‘Sul maestro dei crocifissi scapigliati e un suo epigono attivo in San Miniato al Tedesco’, Bollettino della Accademia degli Euteleti della Città di San Miniato, XCI, 80, 2013, pp. 159-177). Traversi supposed that the sculptor was a favourite master of the Medici family since a number of his corpuses can be found in some of the family’s favourite locations. The present figure features his stylistic hallmarks in the details of the face such as the high cheekbones, the distincitve hairstyle made of long tousled strands and the refined polychromy, which has been remarkably preserved in the present case. At the end of the 15th century in Florence the influence of the preacher Savonarola spurred a rise in the production of small-scale images of Christ on the cross for private devotion.