29/03/2026
Antonio da Sangallo the Elder, The Crucifix, 1480-1490, carved and painted wood, 125 x 122 x 30 cm, Convent of Santa Trinita, Florence. Preserved in the Vallombrosan convent of Santa Trinita in Florence, this Crucifix reached us in critical overall condition, both structurally and pictorially, requiring delicate restoration. This restoration was carried out by Francesca Spagnoli, with the collaboration of Rossella Basagni, and was completed in 2022 as part of the Restituzioni program. The sculpture has a unique feature: made of poplar wood, it features the characteristic anchoring of the arms to the shoulders, a device that allows it to rotate from the open, nailed "cross-like" position to the position along the body. This arrangement is used during the rites of Holy Week, when the sacred gesture of the deposition of Christ's body from the cross to the tomb was re-enacted, according to an ancient ritual in use until the time of the Council of Trent. The crucified Christ is depicted at the moment of exhaling his last breath. His abdomen displays a characteristic contraction, accompanied by a shift of the legs to the left, creating a certain contrast with the composed face, almost serene in its abandonment to death. The work is well known to critics who, after initially referring to the work of Baccio da Montelupo, unanimously link it to the work of the Sangallo brothers, who, together with the workshops of Da Maiano, Del Tasso, and Baccio da Montelupo, shared the finest production of wooden sculpture in Florence between the 15th and 16th centuries. Thus, dated between the late 15th and early 16th centuries, the Crucifix has been considered, due to some formal uncertainties, especially evident in the proportional imbalance between the arms and the body, a product of the workshop, alternately under the guidance of Giuliano or Antonio. Recent studies on the subject and the results of the restoration work suggest that the Santa Trinita Crucifix is an early work by Antonio, along with Giuliano's workshop, in the early 1480s, well before the forms of Sangallo's Crucifixes became gigantic in heroic representations. Credits: Lia Brunori.
