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A POLYCHROME TERRACOTTA AND WOOD FIGURE OF THE CRUCIFIED CHRIST
Lot 95 THE PROPERTY OF A NOBLEMAN

A POLYCHROME TERRACOTTA AND WOOD FIGURE OF THE CRUCIFIED CHRIST

ATTRIBUTED TO FRANCISCO RUIZ GIJON (1653-1720), SEVILLE, CIRCA 1680

Fermé6 December 2012

Prix réalisé

GBP 8,750

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A POLYCHROME TERRACOTTA AND WOOD FIGURE OF THE CRUCIFIED CHRIST
ATTRIBUTED TO FRANCISCO RUIZ GIJON (1653-1720), SEVILLE, CIRCA 1680
The titulus, figure of Christ and the skull modelled in terracotta, the remaining elements carved of wood; the front of the rectangular faux-marbre base with paper label inscribed in ink '291'; the side painted with the collection number '41078(?)'; the reverse with two paper labels one inscribed '371', the other 'C.Güell'; areas of the polychromy refreshed; possible repairs to the arms of Christ
21¼ in. (54 cm.) high, the figure of Christ; 35 in. (89 cm.) high, overall

Note du spécialiste

The emotive terracotta figure of Christ offered here can, on the basis of style, be attributed to the Sevillian sculptor Francisco Ruiz Gijon. Perhaps the most relevant comparison attesting to the attribution can be made with the figure of the Crucified Christ in the Iglesia Patrocinio, Seville (Martin Gonzalez, loc. cit.) dating from circa 1682. With the Seville figure, as with the present lot, the artist has represented Christ with a similarly muscular torso, with a broad rib-cage, highly defined diaphragm and small pectoral muscles, and an unusually pronounced twist in the hips that creates a very dynamic and asymmetrical composition overall.

The author of the present figure used this asymmetry to great effect when applying the polychromy to the surface since the torso's shift to the right of the cross allowed for the extensively painted bloodied back to be more easily viewable. This fact may therefore suggest that the terracotta Christ was not intended to adorn an altarpiece but more likely used in a procession.