The Brunelleschi Crucifix is a

polychrome Polychrome is the "practice of decorating architectural elements, sculpture, etc., in a variety of colors." The term is used to refer to certain styles of architecture, pottery or sculpture in multiple colors. Ancient Egypt Colossal statu ...

painted wooden sculpture by the Italian artist

Filippo Brunelleschi Filippo Brunelleschi ( , , also known as Pippo; 1377 – 15 April 1446), considered to be a founding father of Renaissance architecture, was an Italian architect, designer, and sculptor, and is now recognized to be the first modern engineer, p ...

, made from

pearwood Pears are fruits produced and consumed around the world, growing on a tree and harvested in the Northern Hemisphere in late summer into October. The pear tree and shrub are a species of genus ''Pyrus'' , in the Family (biology), family Rosacea ...

around 1410-1415, and displayed since 1572 in the Gondi Chapel at the church of

Santa Maria Novella Santa Maria Novella is a church in Florence, Italy, situated opposite, and lending its name to, the city's main railway station. Chronologically, it is the first great basilica in Florence, and is the city's principal Dominican church. The chu ...

Florence Florence ( ; it, Firenze ) is a city in Central Italy and the capital city of the Tuscany region. It is the most populated city in Tuscany, with 383,083 inhabitants in 2016, and over 1,520,000 in its metropolitan area.Bilancio demografico an ...

. This idealised depiction of the

crucifixion of Jesus The crucifixion and death of Jesus occurred in 1st-century Judea, most likely in AD 30 or AD 33. It is described in the four canonical gospels, referred to in the New Testament epistles, attested to by other ancient sources, and consid ...

measures around . It is the only surviving wooden sculpture by Brunelleschi: the only other known example, a wooden sculpture of

Mary Magdalene Mary Magdalene (sometimes called Mary of Magdala, or simply the Magdalene or the Madeleine) was a woman who, according to the four canonical gospels, traveled with Jesus as one of his followers and was a witness to crucifixion of Jesus, his cru ...

at the church of Santo Spirito, was destroyed in a fire in 1471. In his 2002 book, ''Masaccio e le origini del Rinascimento'', the art historian

Luciano Bellosi Luciano Bellosi (7 July 1936 – 26 April 2011) was an Italian art historian. Life He was born and died in Florence, graduating from the University of Florence in 1963 alongside Roberto Longhi with a thesis on Lorenzo Monaco. He worked for the S ...

described Brunelleschi's crucifix as "probably the first Renaissance work in the history of art" ("''probabilmente, la prima opera rinascimentale della storia dell'arte''"), representing a definitive turn away from the stylised postures of

Gothic sculpture Gothic sculpture was a sculpture style that flourished in Europe during the Middle Ages, from about mid-12th century to the 16th century,The chronology of the period varies significantly according to the source consulted evolving from Romanesque ar ...

and a return to the naturalism of

classical sculpture Classical sculpture (usually with a lower case "c") refers generally to sculpture from Ancient Greece and Ancient Rome, as well as the Hellenized and Romanized civilizations under their rule or influence, from about 500 BC to around 200 AD. It ma ...

. According to

Giorgio Vasari Giorgio Vasari (, also , ; 30 July 1511 – 27 June 1574) was an Italian Renaissance Master, who worked as a painter, architect, engineer, writer, and historian, who is best known for his work ''The Lives of the Most Excellent Painters, Sculpt ...

, the sculpture was Brunelleschi's response to a similar polychrome wooden crucifix made by

Donatello Donato di Niccolò di Betto Bardi ( – 13 December 1466), better known as Donatello ( ), was a Republic of Florence, Florentine sculptor of the Renaissance period. Born in Republic of Florence, Florence, he studied classical sculpture and use ...

for the church of Santa Croce, also in Florence, c.1406-1408. Brunelleschi had criticized Donatello's crucifix for its heavy musculature and unrefined proportions, saying Donatello had put "''un contadino in croce''" (a peasant – or farmer – on the cross). Brunelleschi made his crucifix after accepting Donatello's challenge to do better. Superficially similar to Donatello's depiction of Christ on the cross, Brunelleschi's subject is more idealised, lighter, and better proportioned. Like Donatello, Brunelleschi borrows Christ's pose from the high painted crucifix by

Giotto Giotto di Bondone (; – January 8, 1337), known mononymously as Giotto ( , ) and Latinised as Giottus, was an Italian painter and architect from Florence during the Late Middle Ages. He worked during the Gothic/Proto-Renaissance period. Giot ...

, suspended in the nave at Santa Maria Novella, but Brunelleschi gives the figure a dynamic twist to the left. The central figure of Jesus is also informed by

life studies ''Life Studies'' is the fourth book of poems by Robert Lowell. Most critics (including Helen Vendler, Steven Gould Axelrod, Adam Kirsch, and others) consider it one of Lowell's most important books, and the Academy of American Poets named it one ...

, but carefully measured to create a perfect anatomy. Echoing the proportions of the ideal

Vitruvian man The ''Vitruvian Man'' ( it, L'uomo vitruviano; ) is a drawing by the Italian Renaissance artist and scientist Leonardo da Vinci, dated to . Inspired by the writings by the ancient Roman architect Vitruvius, the drawing depicts a nude man in two s ...

, the span of Christ's arms match exactly his height, with the navel at the centre of the body. Earlier sculptures of the crucifixion, including Donatello's, usually included a carved loincloth. The pearwood of Brunelleschi's sculpture suffered from radial cracks in this area, which he concealed with a stiffened linen loincloth, but he did not sculpt Christ's genitals beneath. The practice of sculpting Jesus naked, but omitting the genitals, became common in the 15th century, although Michelangelo's crucifix at Santo Spirito from 1492 is an exception. Whether or not it was made to answer Donatello's challenge, it appears the sculpture was not made to fulfil a particular commission, as the completed artwork remained in Brunelleschi's workshop until 1445, the year before his death, when the artist donated it to the

Dominican friars The Order of Preachers ( la, Ordo Praedicatorum) abbreviated OP, also known as the Dominicans, is a Catholic mendicant order of Pontifical Right for men founded in Toulouse, France, by the Spanish priest, saint and mystic Dominic of Cal ...

of Santa Maria Novella. It was initially installed on a pilaster between the

Filippo Strozzi Chapel Santa Maria Novella is a church in Florence, Italy, situated opposite, and lending its name to, the city's main railway station. Chronologically, it is the first great basilica in Florence, and is the city's principal Dominican church. The chu ...

and the

Bardi Chapel The (Italian for 'Basilica of the Holy Cross') is the principal Franciscan church in Florence, Italy, and a minor basilica of the Roman Catholic Church. It is situated on the Piazza di Santa Croce, about 800 meters south-east of the Duomo. The ...

, but it was moved to the Gondi Chapel in 1572. It has been restored several times, and was displayed in 2012 alongside the earlier wooden crucifix of Donatello and the later crucifix of Michelangelo. File:Paolo Monti - Servizio fotografico (Firenze, 1975) - BEIC 6349000.jpg, Brunelleschi Crucifix in 1975 File:Installazione florens 2012 crocifissi 01.JPG, Exhibited in 2012 (right), beside the crucifix of Michelangelo (centre) and crucifix of Donatello (left). File:Installazione florens 2012 crocifisso brunelleschi 05.JPG, Rear view from 2012 exhibition File:Cappella tornabuoni smn, 00.JPG, Displayed in the chapel to the left of the main altar at

File:Firenze -Santa Maria Novella, crocifisso-.jpg, Giotto's painted ''Crucifix with the Madonna and John the Evangelist'', hanging in the nave at

References

The Crucifix of Brunelleschi
Opera per Santa Maria Novella

* ttps://www.visitflorence.com/itineraries-in-florence/fifteenth-century-wooden-sculpture.html An itinerary to explore 15th century wooden sculpture in Florence visitflorence.com
Filippo Brunelleschi, Crucifix
Mugello Cradle of Renaissance, Ente Cassa di Risparmio di Firenze, 2008
"Practice and Theory in the Italian Renaissance Workshop: Verrocchio and the Epistemology of Making Art"
Christina Neilson, Cambridge University Press, 2019, ISBN 1107172853, p.60-63 {{DEFAULTSORT:Brunelleschi Crucifix 1415 sculptures Crucifixes category:Sculptures in Florence Wooden sculptures Sculptures by Filippo Brunelleschi