03 — ARTWORK
Crucifix
- MEDIUM
- Wood, 168 x 173 cm
- TYPE
- Religious
PALETTE
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- FILE
- 800 × 1139 px · JPEG
COMMENTARY
UNDERLINED TERMS ARE DEFINED IN THE GLOSSARY.
The wooden Crucifix in the Church of Santa Croce is attributed to Donatello, although this attribution is not shared by all art historians. The datation of this work is also controversial. Some scholars consider it as one of the first sculptures by Donatello while others think it was executed at around 1425. The study of the iconographyThe systematic study and identification of the subject-matter and symbolism of art works, as opposed to their style; the set of symbolic forms on which a given work is based. Originally, the study and identification of classical portraits. Renaissance art drew heavily on two iconographical traditions: Christianity, and ancient Greek and Roman art, thought and literature. suggests the date 1412-13.
The intensely life-like face of the dead Christ was not appreciated by Brunelleschi, who accused Donatello of having, in Vasari's words, crucified a peasant. But it reflects Donatello's creative force, his incessant search for new forms of expression, free from established rules, with which to experiment. <P> <TABLE ALIGN=LEFT CELLPADDING=5 BORDER=1 WIDTH=320 BGCOLOR="#99CCCC"> <TR VALIGN=MIDDLE><TD><IMG SRC="/support/gif/listen.gif" BORDER=0 VALIGN=MIDDLE> Suggested listening (streaming mp3, 12 minutes):<BR><A HREF="#" onClick="w=window.open ('/music1/14_cent/gregorian_chants.html', 'newWin', 'scrollbars=yes,status=no,dependent=yes,screenX=0,screenY=0,width=350,height=350');w.opener=this;w.focus();return true"><B>Gregorian chants</B></A> </TD></TR></TABLE>
CITE THIS RECORD — BIBTEX
@online{wga-r37c49f0d9e28cf,
author = {Krén, Emil and Marx, Daniel},
title = {Crucifix by DONATELLO},
organization = {{Web Gallery of Art}},
date = {2026-09-13},
url = {https://beta.wga.hu/artists/donatello-r431353c604b592/crucifix-r37c49f0d9e28cf},
urldate = {2026-09-13},
langid = {english}
}ACCESSED 2026-09-13. REPLACE THE AUTHOR FIELD WITH THE COMMENTARY AUTHOR WHERE ONE IS NAMED.
