Crucifix

This monumental painted crucifix by the Master of Saint Francis, an anonymous Umbrian painter active in the 1260s-1280s, exemplifies the large-scale crucifixes that hung above rood screens in Italian Gothic churches. The Master of Saint Francis, named for his celebrated panel in the Basilica of San Francesco in Assisi, was one of the most significant painters in central Italy before Cimabue and Giotto. His crucifixes introduced a new emotional intensity to the depiction of the suffering Christ, moving away from the triumphant Christus Victor toward the Christus Patiens favored by Franciscan devotion.

Executed in tempera and gold on a shaped wooden panel, the crucifix features the curved body and inclined head of the Christus Patiens type. The refined line work and subtle modeling of Christ's torso show the artist's sophisticated command of the Umbrian painting tradition.