Crucifix
c. 1646
Alessandro Algardi (Italian, 1598–1654)
Italy
This expertly cast bronze is one of the finest surviving versions of a lost silver crucifix that Alessandro Algardi made for Pope Innocent X in 1646. Algardi’s Christ displays the agonized emotion caused by his torture on the cross, yet his body appears graceful and idealized. The cross is made of stained and ebonized pearwood and appears to be original, with the drilled holes at the bottom most likely indicating its method of installation on an altar.
Bronze, pearwood with ebonizing and staining