Attributed to Ercole Ferrata

G. Pratesi (ed.), Repertorio della scultura fiorentina del Seicento e Settecento, Turin, 1992, vol. I, p. 102 and vol. III, fig. 492;

G. Morello, F. Petrrucci, C. M. Strinati (eds.), La passione di Cristo secondo Bernini. Dipinti e sculture del Barocco Romano, Rome, 2007, pp. 80-85

This beautifully cast bronze of Christ Carrying the Cross was published and exhibited in 1971 at the Heim Gallery’s Autumn exhibition, Faces and Figures of The Baroque, with an attribution to Massimiliano Soldani-Benzi. The catalogue notes the bronze ‘shows unmistakable characteristic of the mature style of Soldani. The folds of the draperies find their counterpart in many sculptures dating from 1715-30, like the two ‘Lamentations’ … or some of the reliefs, in particular the ‘Death of St Joseph ...’.

The bronze was subsequently published again as Soldani by Giovanni Pratesi himself in his 1993 Repertorio of 17^th century sculpture (op. cit., p. 102). However, more recently this cast has been identified by Francesco Petrucci (op. cit.) as a model by the Roman sculptor, Ercole Ferrata, and probably made by Girolamo Lucenti, who cast bronzes for Gian Lorenzo Bernini, amongst others. Petrucci makes pertinent stylistic comparisons with bronzes of the crucified Christ attributed to Ferrata.

The arguments in support of either an attribution to Soldani or Ferrata demonstrate the tangible affinities between the small scale works in bronze by the two sculptors. The present model remains a powerful, yet idealized image of this harrowing subject in which none of the signs of Christ’s earlier flagellation and torment are apparent. Christ’s beautiful and serene face, and voluminous, flowing drapery combine to create an image of noble suffering.

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