Mastro Guglielmo ( eng. Master William) is the conventional name of an anonymous Italian master of Byzantine painting of the early 12th century and is associated with the crucifix kept and exhibited in the co-cathedral of Santa Maria Assunta in Sarzana on the coast of the Ligurian Sea.Finestre sull’ Arte: La croce di Guglielmo a Sarzana: la prima croce dipinta datata della storia dell'arte
Retrieved 29 June 2022. (Italian)

Crucifix from Sarzana

The crucifix from Sarzana by Mastro Guglielmo is a figure of the resurrected Christ painted in tempera on

canvas Canvas is an extremely durable plain-woven fabric used for making sails, tents, marquees, backpacks, shelters, as a support for oil painting and for other items for which sturdiness is required, as well as in such fashion objects as handbags ...

, attached to a cross made of chestnut wood and is also the first known example of an

iconography Iconography, as a branch of art history, studies the identification, description and interpretation of the content of images: the subjects depicted, the particular compositions and details used to do so, and other elements that are distinct fro ...

of the ''Christus triumphans'' typology. According to the interpretation of the Italian

art historian Art history is the study of aesthetic objects and visual expression in historical and stylistic context. Traditionally, the discipline of art history emphasized painting, drawing, sculpture, architecture, ceramics and decorative arts; yet today ...

Piero Torriti Piero is an Italian given name. Notable people with the name include: *Piero Angela (1928–2022), Italian television host *Piero Barucci (born 1933), Italian academic and politician *Piero del Pollaiuolo (c. 1443–1496), Italian painter *Piero de ...

, the Jesus figure shown represents „an expanded grandeur, a strong search for life and freedom of movement that seems to dissolve the rigid oriental forms“. One of the more famous copies of Mastro Guglielmo's crucifix can be found in the church of

Heiligenkreuz Abbey Heiligenkreuz Abbey (german: Stift Heiligenkreuz; en, Abbey of the Holy Cross) is a Cistercian monastery in the village of Heiligenkreuz in the southern part of the Vienna woods, c. 13 km north-west of Baden in Lower Austria. It is the olde ...

, in the Lower Austrian municipality of the same name in the middle of the Vienna Woods: this was made by the Italian artist

Renato Manfredi Renatus is a first name of Latin origin which means "born again" (natus = born). In Italian, Portuguese and Spanish it exists in masculine and feminine forms: Renato and Renata. In French they have been translated to René and Renée. Renata is a ...

in 1980–1981 as part of the renovation of the altar area of the church and hung above the altar on

Good Friday Good Friday is a Christian holiday commemorating the crucifixion of Jesus and his death at Calvary. It is observed during Holy Week as part of the Paschal Triduum. It is also known as Holy Friday, Great Friday, Great and Holy Friday (also Hol ...

(17 April) in 1981.Willi, Agnes: ''Über alle erhöht'', Heiligenkreuz: Be&Be, 2009, p. 7 and 33. (German)

References

External links

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Fondazione Carispezia: Una nuova Guida digitale per scoprire la preziosa Croce di Mastro Guglielmo
(Italian) 12th-century Italian painters Italian male painters Romanesque artists Byzantine painters {{Italy-painter-stub