Christian Art · Medieval · The Cross & Resurrection
The Santa Croce Crucifix
“When Jesus therefore had received the vinegar, he said, It is finished: and he bowed his head, and gave up the ghost.” — John 19:30 (KJV)
About
Cimabue's great painted crucifix (about 1287–1288) hung in Santa Croce, Florence, until the flood of 1966 nearly destroyed it; its scarred restoration made it a symbol of rescued art. Christ's body sways in the Byzantine manner, eyes closed, the grief carved by line.
The Meaning
Florence's first master stretched the old icon style toward real sorrow: this Christ suffers. The picture stands at the doorway of the Renaissance — devotion learning to feel — and its wounds, flood wounds included, preach their own sermon.
For Us Today
By His stripes we are healed (Isaiah 53:5). When life feels like the flood-damaged wood of this crucifix — marred, battered, scarred — remember the One who was marred more than any man, for you.
Image: Public domain · via Wikimedia Commons — the file’s page. Tap the picture to open the full-size original there.