Living Christ. Ferdinando Tacca (Florence 1619-1686) School of. Probably 17th century. Bronze with transparent brown patina, traces of black patina.

28.5 x 28.5 x 6 cm

The model of this beautiful Crucifix has been attributed to the school of Giambologna (Charles Avery), associated with the figures of Pietro and Ferdinando Tacca, heirs of his foundry and of all the models he produced.

Two Christs almost identical to ours belong to the Parisian collection of Michael Hall, one of them in silver (see the exhibition catalogue). The bronze one is attributed to Ferdinando Tacca, the silver one to an artist close to Giambologna, perhaps Pietro Tacca.

Pietro Tacca and his nephew Ferdinando were the heirs of Giambologna's grand-ducal foundry, and continued his models by inventing original ones.

By analyzing Michael Hall's Christs, Giambologna's methods of working were traced, for example the type of square-shaped raised nails, and therefore they were attributed to the heirs of the great master.

Even the living Christ presented here comes close to that way of working, if analyzed in detail.

I would like to point out a rather fitting iconographic reference: Michelangelo's famous drawing of a living Christ, now in the British Museum. Christ's position, his loincloth stretched into a triangle, and his physicality are easily comparable to the crucifixes by Michael Hall and the one presented here.

Guglielmo della Porta, a pupil of Michelangelo, may have been inspired by that drawing to create this type of crucifix. It could be a path worth pursuing for those who are willing.

Last note, the measurements (28.8 x 28.8 cm) are in line with the Renaissance taste of including the human body in a perfect geometry.

Bibliography:
Charles Avery-Michael Hall, Giambologna Sculptor of the Medici,
Somogy Editions d'art, Paris, 1999, pp.122-125.
Michelangelo Exhibition.

Alessia Alberti, Alessandra Rovetta, Claudio Salsi, D'Apres Michelangelo, exhibition catalogue, Marsilio, Venice 2015, pp. 244-275.