Crucifixion

Mosè Bianchiaround 1879

Details

Title: Crucifixion
Creator Lifespan: 1840 - 1904
Creator Nationality: Italian
Creator Gender: Male
Creator Birth Place: Monza
Date: around 1879
Physical Dimensions: w105 x h159.5 cm
Painter: Mosè Bianchi
Description: This painting is signed in the lower right corner “MBianchi”. It is a section from the large altarpiece dated 1879 and commissioned by the Gavazzi family for the Chapel of the Crucifix in the Church of St Anthony Abbot in Valmadrera (LC). The compositional elements of this work are similar to that of the rest of the altarpiece, with some minor iconographic variations on the bottom right to accentuate the dynamism of the atmosphere. Although it is evident that the model for this piece was the Crucifixion by Hayez, once in the parish church of Muggiò (Mi) and now in the Diocesan Museum, this artist addresses the same theme here with more realism, moving away from the idealized naturalism of Hayez. Mosè Bianchi depicts the moment of Christ's death in a highly dramatic manner, from Mary Magdalene in torment to the sky covered with clouds to the desolate landscape. There are several versions of this painting, but this one stands out because of the unusual scroll on the cross with the inscription ICRI, instead of INRI, substituting the N of Nazarenus with the C of Christus, clearly an error by the painter.
Type: painting
Rights: © Archivio fotografico Museo Diocesano, Milano
Medium: Oil on canvas

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