Cleveland Museum of Art

Crucified Christ

Date

late 1300s

Medium

painted and gilded wood (poplar)

Culture

Spain, Navarre?, late 14th century

Department

Medieval Art

Institution

Cleveland Museum of Art

This carved wooden corpus of Christ was covered with a layer of linen and painted with vivid colors. Given its large scale it would have been intended for display in a church. Most likely it was suspended high over an altar facing the choir. During the Middle Ages, a monumental cross was often hung above the altar, and a smaller cross placed upon it. While not required by the liturgy, these crosses were visible symbols of the subject and focus of the Mass. The style of the corpus would suggest it comes from Navarre in northeast Spain.

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