Relief
ca. 1550-1560 (made)
| Artist/Maker | |
| Place of origin |
This pinewood relief represents a figure holding symbols of the Passion. This relief is reminiscent of the sculpture carved during the mid-sixteenth century in Castile in the wake of Alonso Berruguette (c. 1489-1561). However the rippling drapery and facial type are closer in style to the work of sculptors working in Rioja, who were themselves influenced by Castilian sculpture of the first third of the sixteenth century.
Although provisionally identified as Faith when first acquired by the Museum, the symbols of the scourage and column imply that a more accurate interpretation is of a figure holding instruments of the Passion. The pose of the figure and stepped edge of the panel could signify that it flanked a scene of the Crucifixion to our right, while another similarly sized panel with a figure matching it symmetrically in pose, so also looking inwards to the putative Crucifixion, could have been positioned on the other side. This, along with the comparatively small size of the panel suggests that it was almost certainly one of the subsidiary elements in a much larger altarpiece.
Although provisionally identified as Faith when first acquired by the Museum, the symbols of the scourage and column imply that a more accurate interpretation is of a figure holding instruments of the Passion. The pose of the figure and stepped edge of the panel could signify that it flanked a scene of the Crucifixion to our right, while another similarly sized panel with a figure matching it symmetrically in pose, so also looking inwards to the putative Crucifixion, could have been positioned on the other side. This, along with the comparatively small size of the panel suggests that it was almost certainly one of the subsidiary elements in a much larger altarpiece.
Object details
| Category | |
| Object type | |
| Materials and techniques | Carved pinewood |
| Brief description | Figure holding Instruments of the Passion; Rioja, ca. 1550-60 |
| Physical description | Pinewood figure holding symbols of the Passion. The robed, androgynous figure seen in the three-quarters view, stands in a shell-niche, with the right foot forward, the toes visible beneath the hem. The left hand holds a fluted column, and the right hand a small scourage. Above are two cherubim, one in each corner above the niche. On the border above is a grotesque mask with tendrils transmogrified into tongued monsters extending from its mouth. The panel has a stepped edge running round all four sides, suggesting it was once slotted in to a larger ensemble. |
| Dimensions |
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| Credit line | Gift of Mr. Archibald G.B. Russell, Rouge Croix, through Art Fund |
| Summary | This pinewood relief represents a figure holding symbols of the Passion. This relief is reminiscent of the sculpture carved during the mid-sixteenth century in Castile in the wake of Alonso Berruguette (c. 1489-1561). However the rippling drapery and facial type are closer in style to the work of sculptors working in Rioja, who were themselves influenced by Castilian sculpture of the first third of the sixteenth century. Although provisionally identified as Faith when first acquired by the Museum, the symbols of the scourage and column imply that a more accurate interpretation is of a figure holding instruments of the Passion. The pose of the figure and stepped edge of the panel could signify that it flanked a scene of the Crucifixion to our right, while another similarly sized panel with a figure matching it symmetrically in pose, so also looking inwards to the putative Crucifixion, could have been positioned on the other side. This, along with the comparatively small size of the panel suggests that it was almost certainly one of the subsidiary elements in a much larger altarpiece. |
| Bibliographic reference | Trusted, Marjorie. Spanish Sculpture : Catalogue of the Post-Medieval Spanish Sculpture in Wood, Terracotta, Alabaster, Marble, Stone, Lead and Jet in the Victoria and Albert Museum. London: Victoria and Albert Museum, 1996. pp. 132-133. cat. no. 62. |
| Collection | |
| Accession number | A.13-1920 |
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| Record created | June 24, 2009 |
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