Deposition
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Authors
unknown artist
Date
Type
image
Language
Keyword
Deposition , Christ , Cross , Nicodemus , Joseph of Arimathea , Mary
Alternative Title
Abstract
This large-scale, well-preserved Deposition group (with the original cross, ladder, and pliers for removing the nails) is documented to have been made for the Cathedral of Volterra, where it still stands, in 1228. It is one of many such Deposition groups that were made in the Duecento. The theatrical nature of the group may reflect contemporary passion plays and also helps us envision how crucifixes with hinged shoulders would have been dramatized through a reenactment of this scene on Good Friday. The group is remarkably well-preserved and includes the original cross, polychromy and gilding and silvering. The cross, for example, is ornamented with delicate vegatal scrolls and silver leaf (now tarnished) with green lake. Photograph(s) licensed under a Creative Commons Attribution 4.0 International License.
Description
Cathedral, Volterra
Citation
Mariagiulia Burresi and Antonio Caleca, eds., Volterra d'oro e di pietra (Ospedaletto: Pacini, 2006), 42; Mariagiulia Burresi, "Ultimi interventi sui gruppi Pisani," in La Deposizione lignea in Europa: L'immagine, il culto, la forma, ed. Giovanna Saporì and Bruno Tuscano (Milan: Electa, 2004), 563-72; Mariagiulia Burresi and Antonino Caleca, "Sacre Passioni: il Cristo deposto del duomo di Pisa e le Deposizioni di Volterra, Vicopisano e San Miniato," in Mariagiulia Burresi, ed., Sacre Passioni: Scultura lignea a Pisa dal XII al XV secolo (Milan: Federico Motta, 2000), 24-43; John Paoletti, "Wooden Sculpture as Sacral Presence," Artibus et Historiae 13:26 (1992), 92-3.