A Lifesize Romanesque Painted Wood Corpus Christi, Probably German, Second Half 13th Century

Cracks, restoration, and flaking paint throughout. Refreshed paint throughout. Losses throughout including parts of the crown. Restorations/fills including some of crown, some of hair, fingers, feet, and lower section of cross. Some worming. Minor visible age cracks. Reverse of figure hollowed out, original wood from back reaffixed above waist.
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The stylized anatomy of the figure including the prominent ribs, obtrusuve collarbone and triangular-shaped sternum combined with the carving and position of the feet and design of the perizonium are all features found in Romanesque corpora from the later 12th and 13th centuries. The overall physiognomy bears close affinity to Northern European corpora, particularly those from Germany and the Meuse valley.

The manner in which the present figure's perizonium is knotted in the center is prevalent in later 11th and 12th century figures of Christ, see for example a bronze corpus from Essen from the 11th century (Rhein und Maas, op. cit., vol I, fig. D2, p. 190). However, the facial type as well as the treatment of the long hair are more common in 13th century figures, such as a corpus from Grimbergen, Belgium also illustrated in Rhein und Maas (op. cit., vol. II, p. 422, fig. 2). While the facial features and shape do not adhere to the Spanish Romanesque sculptural tradition, further comparison can be made with corpora from that country, see Thoby (op.cit., pl. CXX, no. 258) for a Spanish wood figure of Christ in the Art Institute of Chicago.

RELATED LITERATURE
Paul Thoby, Le Crucifix des Origines au Concile de Trente, Nantes, 1959
Rhein und Maas Kunst and Kultur 800-1400, (exh. cat.), Kunsthalle Köln May 14 - July 23, 1972, Cologne, 1972