Christ in Prayer
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Authors
Andrea della Robbia
Date
Type
image
Language
Keyword
Christ , Redeemer , Bust , Jesus
Alternative Title
Abstract
This glazed terracotta bust of Christ (currently housed in the sacristy of Santa Croce in Florence) has been attributed to Andrea della Robbia. The bust is loosely modelledon what was a popular type of image in the late quattrocento and early cinquecento -- busts of Christ the Redeemer made by Andrea del Verrocchio, his workshop, and imitators, often out of painted terracotta, which follow closely a description of Christ that was believed to have been written by an eye-witness. Here, however, the bust is not just the head and shoulders of a figure looking benevolently down, as in the other busts of this type. Instead, the figure has his hands raised in a gesture of prayer and looks devoutly upward, and so it has been suggested that Christ is depicted in the Garden of Gesthemane, praying in a moment of human suffering that his burden be taken from him (a scene known as the Agony in the Garden). It is also possible that the figure depicted is a male saint, though with the symmetrical curling locks and parted beard, the figure here bears a close resemblance to images of Christ, such as that in Andrea della Robbia's Ascension altarpiece in La Verna. Photograph(s) licensed under a Creative Commons Attribution 4.0 International License.
Description
Santa Croce, Florence
Citation
Giancarlo Gentilini, ed., I Della Robbia e l'arte nuova della scultura invetriata (Florence: Giunti, 1998), 202-3 cat. II.14.