Christ articulated

This articulated wooden representation of Christ crucified, still displaying traces of polychromy, is a unique specimen within the overall panorama of Portuguese medieval art. The figure is articulated in its head, arms, feet and knees. One of its legs can be moved at the level of the hip, while the other is fixed. These characteristics, which make it possible to move the different parts of the image, indicate that it would have formed part of a group of sculptures representing the 'Descent from the Cross’ or that it would have been used in ceremonies celebrating the 'Deposition from the Cross’. The existence of this type of image must be understood in the light of its relationship with the rituals involved in the celebration of Holy Week. The articulations of Christ’s limbs meant that the image could be presented as kneeling and carrying the cross, making the scene of Christ’s crucifixion and descent from the cross more realistic.
This image of Christ displays some formal similarities to the Christ dated 1147, housed at the National Art Museum of Catalonia (Barcelona). Analyses have been made of the wood and have proved that the sculpture is from the 13th century.
This articulated image was intended to be used in the Holy Week celebrations, namely as part of the Passion Procession and in the re-enactment of the Descent from the Cross in the form of a morality play. The articulations of Christ’s limbs meant that the image could be presented as kneeling and carrying the cross, making the scene of Christ’s crucifixion and descent from the cross more realistic. The sculpture, which originates from the medieval period, may have been adapted for this purpose at a later date, when the public acts that were performed to mark Christ’s Passion were becoming more widespread.