The Crucifix by Baccio da Montelupo
In the Badia di SS Flora e Lucilla you can find the polychrome wooden Crucifix by Baccio da Montelupo above the second altar on the right.
The artist was born in Montelupo Fiorentino in 1469 and died in Lucca about 1523. The crucifix ( 147x142 cm,) was carved by the Florentine master between 1504 and 1510.
The Crucified Jesus is shown as suffering with his head leaning on his right shoulder, half closed eyes, slightly open mouth and his sagging body in a spasm of pain. The presence of curved and wavy lines increase Christ’s sense of suffering.
The cylindrical shapes of the torso, joined together and compact, as if they have been modelled, characterize stylistically the most advanced stage of the sculptor’s work, clearly connected Savonarola’s time.
This artwork compared with other early works, like the crucifix in San Marco, Florence, expresses a subtle conception of the passion, aimed at a deep introspection.
Vasari reminded us in "Lives of the most excellent Painters, Sculptors and Architects" that this Crucifix was one of the best among the many created by Baccio, writing « he carved Crucifixes as large as life. They are all graceful, but some of them are much more perfect than others..» This Crucifix is a remarkable work of art: austere, religious art pervaded by a deep sense of mysticism.
At first it was placed on the high altar in the Badia, but in the early 15th century it was moved to the side wall to substitute the crucifix by Segna di Bonaventura.
After being restored, the sixteenth century Crucifix was framed by a polychrome wooden structure in 1639, probably contemporary to the decoration on the walls of the chapel.
In 1743 it was set in a niche in the wall with a frame of stucco marble. The earlier wooden case, a sort of big monumental frame, became unnecessary, so it was used to make a wardrobe, adding doors and drawers. Then it was put in the sacristy.
With the recent restoration which began in 2010, the chapel of the crucifix by Baccio da Montelupo was brought back to its seventeenth century appearance, taking back the case, using it to frame the Crucifix.
This wooden frame is decorated with ovals where angels are represented with the instruments of the passion and inside, at the top centre, God the Father.
The prophets Isaiah and Jeremiah in the lunette are attributed to Bartolomeo Santini, for the late mannerist style, while Solomon and David on the side walls were works of his son Bernardino, the most important seventeenth century painter from Arezzo. The four prophets had foreseen the Coming and the Passion of Christ.
The balustrade made of sandstone was carried out in 1690, by Gian Battista Contini, Gian Lorenzo Bernini's student.
At the foot of it, there is the marble tombstone of the Forti family of 1741.