Dissertations / Theses on the topic 'Crucifixion in art'

Bibliography: leaves 289-313. A study which takes as its focus five gemstones, each engraved with an image of the Crucifixion and previously dated to the Late Antique period. The study undertakes an examination of the gems' iconographic as well as compositional, physical and epigraphic evidence, and demonstrates the way in which critical information regarding the evolution of the Crucifixion image in Late Antiquity has been seriously obstructed in previous studies through the dismissal, misapplication and misinterpretation of the gems. Focusing on iconography, it presents a revised chronology for the gems, suggesting that only three are Late Antique, the fourth being early Byzantine.

This research developed from an observation that the iconography of the crucifixion was being used by artists in the twentieth century for purposes beyond its usage in earlier centuries. As an active member of a Christian Community this appeared to have implications for a Christian understanding of the theological significance of the crucifixion of Jesus and also its significance in the wider culture of twentieth century Britain. The foundation of this thesis is a Scholarly Edition of sixty works of art, produced from 1913 to 2000, by artists based in Great Britain. They are united by a common use of the iconography of the crucifixion. There is no other collection comparable to the Scholarly Edition. As an original contribution to learning the collection is innovative in bringing together the works of art as a resource for theological reflection. The commentary describes the methodology used in collecting and analysing the works including an introduction to three areas relating theology and art. The analyses of individual works indicate that in the twentieth century the theology implicit in the works moved away from a teleological emphasis of Jesus as Saviour of the World, found in pre-seventeenth century works, to a diverse and diffuse approach to theology. Within this diversity, the works of art collected in the Scholarly Edition indicate that Christians and non-Christians during this period used it for a wider range of purposes than has been thus far reported. In the final chapter of the Commentary it is proposed that in the twentieth century the symbolic meaning of the iconography changed from centring on a Christian teleological understanding as Christ as Saviour to a non-religious personification of humanity as alienated, innocent and suffering, whose prototype is the crucified Jesus Christ. Finally, this change was related to radical Anglican theological proposals made during the twentieth century.

Pour déterminer la place de Jésus le Christ dans l'oeuvre de Chagall, nous nous appuyons sur un corpus de 365 œuvres comportant le Motif du Crucifié ainsi que différents documents littéraires (lettres, biographie, poèmes). Notre approche plurielle touche aux domaines de l'histoire de l'art, de la théologie et de l'histoire du judaïsme ( en particulier de la Shoah) et du christianisme, ainsi que de l'exégèse biblique. Une première partie recense les lectures critiques et interprétatives des monographes concernant le motif chez le peintre ; lectures influencées par l'appartenance culturelle et religieuse de leur auteur. Une seconde partie explore les influences reçues par l'artiste : culturelles, artistiques, ethniques, religieuses et historiques. Elle se penche notamment sur les divergences entre les communautés chrétiennes et juives concernant la personne de Jésus. Une troisième partie présente la place tout à fait remarquable que le motif du crucifié occupe chez un artiste issu du judaïsme et pose la question de l'utilisation, par un juif, d'un motif chrétien. La quatrième partie présente la place du motif dans l'oeuvre de l'artiste, une place méconnue, sous-évaluée, contestée. Une étude des thèmes et motifs associés, sous les catégories du grotesque, du déport et du report, permet de suivre l'itinéraire d'un peintre qui découvre, s'approprie et dépasse un motif de l'art chrétien. Une lecture rétrospective du déploiement du motif découvre alors une lecture polysémique et pluri religieuse du motif qui fait de Chagall un visionnaire
To determine the place of Jesus the Christ in the works of Chagall, we rely on a corpus of 365 artistic works with the motif of Christ crucified and different literary documents (such as letters, biography and poems). Among other things we refer to the different fields of the history of Art, Judaism (Shoah), and Christianity as well as the biblical exegesis. The first part specifies the critical and interpretative readings being influenced by the cultural and religious belonging of their author. The second part explores the different influences received by the artist from the cultural, artistic, ethnic, religious and historical point of view. It particularly focuses on the divergences between the Christian and Jewish communities concerning Jesus Christ. The third part puts forward the remarkable place of the motif of Christ crucified takes in an artist born of Judaism. It asks the question of the use of a Christian motif by a Jew. The fourth part introduces the place of the motif in the artist works, a place which is unknown, under-evaluated, and contested. A study of the topics and associated motives under the categories of “grotesque”, “report” and “deport” introduces the viewer to the path of a painter who discovers, appropriates and transcends a motif in Christian art. Consequently, the careful retrospective reading of the motif emphasizes the polysemic and pluri-religious side of the design which definitively makes a visionary of Chagall

This paper discusses the fresco decoration of Santa Maria ad Cryptas. The frescoes are described and analyzed, and then compared to similar programs in order to determine which features are based on earlier sources, and which are unusual or unique to this particular church. The traditional features are found to reflect a long-established pattern of church decoration reflected in such monuments as Old Saint Peter’s, Sant’Angelo in Formis, the Cathedral of Monreale, and the Cappella Palatina. The unusual features (including the placement of the Passion cycle in the presbytery, and the location of the Crucifixion over the altar) are explained as modifications that emphasize themes of local importance, or of special significance to the patron. The Fossa frescoes utilize programmatic elements, such as the Old and New Testament narrative cycles, to explain sacred history as it related to a medieval man of the patron’s class and profession.

This thesis examines Rogier Van Der Weyden's two unique fifteenth century Crucifixions, The Crucified Christ Between the Virgin and Saint John and The Diptych of the Crucifixion, in light of Carthusian beliefs, practices and relevant devotional texts. The specific text used to support this examination is the Vita Christi by Ludolph of Saxony, which in part deals specifically with the Hours of the Passion. Ludolph's text is given visual form in Rogier's paintings and supports the assertion that Rogier and Ludolph were connected by a shared belief and worldview. Key aspects of Rogier's life, supported by original documentation- familial ties, associates, patrons, use of finances, and his close involvement with the Carthusians-- support this assertion. Other models of connections of belief, evidenced through artist's work, are corroborated in the work of Grunewald, Sluter and Durer.

The Crucifixion, a composition for three vocal soloists, four-part mixed chorus, and instrumental ensemble, is a setting of passages taken from the four Gospels of the Holy Bible. It describes the mocking of Christ and includes the Seven Last Words of Christ on the cross. It uses serial technique in the structuring of pitches and rhythm. Special attention is paid in designing and combining pitch and rhythm to create monophonic, homophonic and polyphonic textures. Besides traditional performance techniques, the work employs some modern vocal and instrumental techniques.

The purpose of the Roman Argei ceremony, during which the Vestal Virgins harvested made and paraded rush puppets only to throw them into the Tiber, is widely debated. Modern historians supply three main reasons for the purpose of the Argei: an agrarian act, a scapegoat, and finally as an offering averting deceased spirits or Lares. I suggest that the ceremony also related to war and the spectacle of displaying war casualties. I compare the ancient Near East and Rome and connect the element of war and husbandry and claim that the Argei paralleled the sacred marriage. in addition to an agricultural and purification rite, these rituals may have served as sympathetic magic for pre- and inter-war periods. As of yet, no author has proposed the Argei as a ceremony related to war. By looking at the Argei holistically I open the door for a new direction of inquiry on the Argei ceremony, fertility cults in the Near East and in Rome, and on the execution of war criminals.The Argei and new year’s sacred marriage both occurred during the initiation of campaign and spring planting and harvest season. Both in the ancient Near East and in Rome, animal victims were sacrificed and displayed through impaling, crucifixion, and hanging for fertility and in war. for both Rome and the Near East war casualties were displayed on sacred trees. Through the Near East cultures a strong correlation existed between impaling, hanging, and crucifixion in war and Sacred Tree fertility worship. By examining Roman tree worship, military rituals, and agricultural ceremonies a similar correlation becomes apparent. on the same day of the Argei, Mars was married to the anthropomorphized new year and within the month became a scapegoat expelled from the city. Additionally, on the first day of the Argei boys became soldiers.

This dissertation brings the Ancient Near Eastern practice of the wheel, hanging, impaling, placarding, and crucifixion (WHIPC) into the scholarship of crucifixion, which has been too dominated by the Greek and Roman practice. WHIPC can be defined as the exposure of a body via affixing, by any means, to a structure, wooden or otherwise, for public display (Chapter 2). Linguistic analysis of relevant sources in several languages (including Egyptian hieroglyphics, Sumerian, Hebrew, Hittite, Old Persian, all phases of ancient Greek, and Latin) shows that because of imprecise terminology, any realistic definition of WHIPC must be broad (Chapter 3). Using methodologies and interdisciplinary approaches drawn from art history, archaeology, linguistic analysis, and digital humanities, this work analyzes scattered but abundant evidence to piece together theories about who was crucified, when, how, where, and why. The dissertation proves that WHIPC records, written and visual, were kept for three primary functions: to advertise power, to punish and deter, and to perform magical rituals or fulfill religious obligations. Manifestations of these three functions come through WHIPC in mythology (see especially Chapter 4), trophies (Chapter 5), spectacles, propaganda, political commentary, executions, corrective torture, behavior modification or prevention, donative sacrifices, scapegoat offerings, curses, and healing rituals. WHIPC also served as a mode of human and animal sacrifice (Chapter 6). Regarding the treatment of the body, several examples reveal cultural contexts for nudity and bone-breaking, which often accompanied WHIPC (Chapter 7). In the frequent instances where burial was forbidden a second penalty, played out in the afterlife, was intended. Contrary to some modern assertions, implementation of crucifixion was not limited by gender or status (Chapter 8). WHIPC often occurred along roads or on hills and mountains, or in in liminal spaces such as doorways, cliffs, city gates, and city walls (Chapter 9). From the Sumerians to the Romans, exposing and displaying the bodies consistently functioned as a display of power, punishment and prevention of undesirable behavior, and held religious and magical significance. Exposure punishments have been pervasive and global since the beginning of recorded time, and indeed, this treatment of the body is still practiced today. It seems no culture has escaped this form of physical abuse.

In 1992 the publication of a book on the crosses painted in Sicily highlighted an aspect of artistic production from that island thirteenth century until the mid-sixteenth century had kept the art workshops engaged in the incessant work to meet the needs of liturgical worship and cathedrals, monasteries and parish, can not exist in fact a Christian church without its icons of the cross. From the text, which begins however previous studies mainly by Maria Grazia Paolini, who already in 1959 had identified the peculiarities of the Sicilian production of painted crosses, it is clear that while the rest of Italy this particular genre of painting had already extinct at the end of the fourteenth century, in Sicily it is perpetuated since well over half of the sixteenth century, with a continuous renewal of figurative language from the artists but remain linked to the medieval tradition of the table-shaped cross, adorned with a rich carved frame that only in rare cases has been preserved, where the figures are often forced to strength within the contours tightened. "The originality of the crosses in Sicily since the fifteenth century is even more to be painted on both sides instead of just in the front, as the specimens were Romanesque and Gothic, except for the processional crosses and processional, to other more manageable and small format "(Maurizio Calvesi). In large crosses stational of Sicily, unlike the crosses of small size often carried out in devotional purposes and which provide a wide variety of different images, iconography has also established a pattern of responding to its liturgical function and that, except in rare cases, remains long unchanged. It provides, in the front, the figure of the Crucified at the center, the Virgin and St. John capicroce mourners in the two sides, the Pantokrator or the Arbor vitae with the Pelican's Nest, emblem Christological, top and Mary Magdalene or the cave with the skull of Adam down; in verse we find the figure of the Risen One in the center and the emblems of the four evangelists in the heads-cross. However on that occasion were left unresolved many issues especially some of the specimens presented that are still open chapters in the history of medieval and modern in Sicily; just mention for all the extraordinary cross of the Cathedral of Piazza Armerina, name-piece for the still anonymous artist who painted it. Nearly twenty years from that pioneering publication it seemed appropriate then return to the subject to try to clarify the points were still in shadow and enlarge the field of investigation to other aspects of the exposure of the cross inside the church buildings and Sicilian its enjoyment by the clergy and the assembly of the faithful. It was thought then to extend the research to both liturgical previous models, ie from when in Sicily we have cognizance of a systematic use of the cross framed with certainty, through written and iconographic sources, and corresponding certificates of the Norman period and extend it up the mid-sixteenth century, when the rules or customs and interpretations resulting from the Council of Trent will interrupt the millennial ecclesial centrality of the cross within the classroom; is to include other forms of exposure of the cross, focusing in turn on the diversity of the medium, in terms of support and material used but also change it causes in the reception of the message you want to convey. The chronological boundaries are marked by two specific dates: in 1149 is drawn up an inventory of the movable property of the Cathedral Cefalu in which it is clear, and it is one of the first times, the use of Norman processional cross, which was then detached from its rod and placed on the altar, or fixed in its vicinity; 1555 is actually the year marked on the back of the complex painted wooden machine in the middle of the nave of the church mother of Collesano, which represents the apogee for the crosses Sicilian well as a unique case in Italy of maintaining such a structure that underpins all liturgical space. In re-reading of the sources, documents and historiography on the subject, among which we note the recent and substantial publication Manufacere et sculpt in Lignamine, curated by Teresa Pugliatti, Salvatore Rizzo and Paul Russo, dedicated to wood carving Sicilian emerged not few discrepancies in the interpretation of the data available to us, that since 1992, thanks to numerous discoveries documentaries, have increased the ability to have a more complete picture, although several are still holes to be filled with reliable data, but that we tried to give an answer, however, albeit hypothetical. The research was started trying to focus on a few key points that make up the skeleton of which has developed the whole architecture of the arguments:  The painted crosses should be seen in the broader context of Calvari stational, of which they are a very special synthetic vision accomplished. The documents and iconographic sources suggest in fact that there is a possibility of varied solutions for the display of the cross: the only painted cross, the cross and the mourners painted detected in the round, the cross painted only in the direction and with the crucifix carved in front, the only carved crucifix, the group of Calvary consisting of three statues in the round.  The placement of the cross within the building of the Church. Previous studies have focused only on the vertical, disputing whether originally crosses and crucifixes were hung under the arch of the presbytery, planted on the ground or, more likely, placed above the partition and most frequently named in the documents of the entablature precisely "the trabo" or "the trabe" of the crucifix. Misunderstandings in this regard arise mainly from a misinterpretation on the arrangement of the cross in the Cathedral of Cefalu. In the temple the Ruggero is in fact still present a monumental cross opistografa, the largest of Sicily with over five feet tall, attributed by Genevieve Bresc Bautier before, and Maria Andaloro, then, to William of Pesaro, that he had to perform before 1468, the year in which he was commissioned another cross painted for the cathedral of Monreale that the painter had to make in accordance with that already accomplished for Cefalu. The bishop Preconio probably transfers the monumental cross painted under the keystone of the great arch that separates the nave from the transept of the assembly reserved for the clergy, the fact here is hanging a chronicler of 1592, Bartholomew Carandino, and said this as he created many misunderstandings about the placement of the cross originally cefaludese and other in Sicily; In fact, the crosses Sicilian are also distinguished by not having a base of support of its own, however, are still recognizable in many pin that allowed to fix the partition or to the beam and the rings for the attachment of tie rods which allowed to stabilize it. But it will be only with the internal changes made in the areas celebratory atmosphere of Trent, during which he emphasized the centrality of eucharistic compared to the cross, it is moved or the apex of the arch of the presbytery, not to "annoy" the vision of the liturgical rites, or is placed on a side altar, equated to other images that multiply on the walls of the churches. The same documents tell us, however, the placement of the cross "in mezo of the ecclesia" accentuating the appearance of more horizontal than vertical. The main function of the cross was in fact to divide the church into two zones, one reserved for the clergy and the celebration of the rites and adapted to accommodate the congregation, reflecting what Venantius Fortunatus, hymn writer of the sixth century, expressed in his Vexilla Regis, the most famous liturgical text dedicated to the cross, that at some point, the turns with these words: "his body made six scales."  The liturgical function of the verse painted with the image of the Risen Christ. It has been hypothesized that the bi-frontal crosses Sicilian serve to expose in Easter time the effigy of the resurrection, turning the table on itself. This ritual is not, however, no trace in the sources and in any case, if true, it appears more devotional custom post-Tridentine that a practice of medieval spirituality. To this is added that for some specimens of the cross, of considerable size and with predispositions logistical which did not allow the mobility of the work, even partial, such an operation is very unlikely.  Problems related to stylistic issues and attributive. Many powers, both painted crosses that of the sculptures, are not universally shared by critics as well as in some cases, among which the most interesting is that of conventionally called Master of the Cross of Piazza Armerina, has debated the cultural formation of the artists and about where they came from foreign or local origin. Part of the research has sought to clarify purely liturgical - worship, primarily with the analysis of the sources of the liturgical and patristic texts founding and prescriptive use of the cross in the Roman liturgy and its presence stational and monumental inside buildings of worship. The Latin sources are given in the original language, while those of Greece or in other ancient language in translation; also some times when you are recognized problems of interpretation, we opted for the translation notes in the current language. You are covered both by the general sources of Latin Patrology both local liturgical sources, such as the so-called Missal Gallicano (late twelfth-early thirteenth century.) Kept in the Historical Diocesan Palermo, the liturgical texts of the Seminary Library of Messina (XII sec.) and the most recent of the Central Library of the Region of Sicily and the Benedictine Abbey of San Martino delle Scale, noting that from the regulatory point of view did not exist in Sicily requirements peculiar than the rest of the Christian West. The order of the chapters should not be seen then only as a sequence of events and the works presented, but this is associated typological and functional diversification of the whole substance of the works remained and digressions diachronic general about the different uses of the cross in time. Great attention was also given to the issues related to the iconography and iconology of the images, because I believe that the read-only form and style returns only partial sense the context of this particular category of liturgical furniture. The reading of the various systems of images and the research of their semantic language did not stop the lectio faciliori simplistic, but we tried to go back to the original sources that underlie each of them, which probably over the course of time were not longer perceived as such, but they are still evidence of a figurative tradition unbroken. A significant part of the research has been devoted to the investigation of documents, putting together and rereading uniquely the large amount of documents from Gioacchino Di Marzo (second half of the nineteenth century) onwards have come to light, not having left out when possible integration with new data from unpublished documents or little known. Chapter I is focused on the use of the cross in Sicily during the Norman-Swabian, when there is no documented presence of monumental crosses but only of those small and precious that were used at the same time in processions and then placed at the altar; has analyzed the origin of the cross placed in the context of the altar and its link with the Eucharistic sacrifice and the development of the function to the so-called cross stational, that which preceded the liturgical rituals and paraliturgical the pope and the bishops who were been authorized; they browse the surviving works produced by the workshops of the Royal Palace in Palermo, none of which is now preserved in Sicily, and then the other types ranging from crosses in metal foils to those in enamel production alms. Chapter II deals with the theme of the monumental cross in the center of the church, it analyzes the origin and spread, and then focuses on the few specimens and two fourteenth century who escaped to the degradation of the time, from the Italian import center to those recognized as indigenous production. Also presented is the only specimen of thirteenth-century wooden crucifix to be come down to us, that of the monastery of Rifesi, today in the mother church of Burgio (Agrigento). In Chapter III develops the theme of the Gothic crucifix in relief, which spread during the fourteenth century and is regarded as the birth of devotional crucifix before which pour intentions and hopes of the faithful repented of his sins. Specimens most famous in Sicily, two of the "painful", Palermo and Trapani, and one of the "polite", in Monreale, will be the subject of numerous replicas, that even in the case of the most devoted crucified Palermo will come up in the early twentieth century. Chapter IV deals with the recovery in the fifteenth century the production of painted crosses and characterization of its most distinctive in the original crosses opistografe, presenting the crucifix on the one hand and the Risen other. Here we have tried to give answers, which obviously reflect the views of the writer, on many issues still unresolved about the functions of some of the works or their cultural connotation, trying to argomentarle based on reliable data. Finally, the fifth and final chapter is devoted to the various alternatives to cross painted, ranging from simple solutions, such as the carved crucifix or cross hybrid, with some parts painted and other relief, to more complex ones involving the use of crosses or crucified flanked by images of the two mourners, who have their apex in the great machine of wooden Collesano, 1555. The second part of the text is devoted to the classification of the existing works, starting with the good repertoire of painted crosses and crucifixes published in 1992, integrating them with the works then do not enter, especially in eastern Sicily, and adding the works belonging to the other types analyzed. The results of this investigation were included in a catalog raisonné of any work where there was placement, materials and support measures, provenance, iconography, any markings, date, author. Regarding Section V. of the catalog, namely the one concerning the crucifixes and sculptures of the fifteenth and sixteenth centuries, the classification is to be understood as merely illustrative and not exhaustive absolutely, because, in the absence of a preliminary cataloging, too many are works and too vast territory to be able to assume a reconnaissance sweep.
Nel 1992 la pubblicazione di un libro sulle croci dipinte in Sicilia (M. C. Di Natale, Le croci dipinte in Sicilia. L'area Occidentale dal XIV al XVI secolo, Flaccovio editore, Palermo 1992) metteva in evidenza un aspetto della produzione artistica isolana che dal Duecento fino alla metà del Cinquecento aveva tenuto impegnate le botteghe artistiche nell'incessante lavoro di soddisfare le esigenze cultuali e liturgiche di cattedrali, monasteri e parrocchiali, non potendo esistere infatti una chiesa cristiana senza la sua icone della croce (Concilio Niceno II). Dal testo, che prende le mosse comunque dagli studi precedenti soprattutto di Maria Grazia Paolini, che già nel 1959 aveva individuato le peculiarità della produzione siciliana di croci dipinte, si evince chiaramente che mentre nel resto d'Italia questo particolare genere pittorico si era estinto già sul finire del Trecento, in Sicilia esso si perpetua fin ben oltre la metà del XVI secolo, con un continuo rinnovamento del linguaggio figurativo da parte degli artisti ma restando legati alla tradizione medievale della tavola sagomata a croce, ornata da una ricca cornice intagliata che solo in rari casi si è conservata, dove spesso le figure sono costrette a forza entro i contorni serrati. "L'originalità delle croci siciliane a partire dal XV secolo è per altro anche quella di essere dipinte su entrambe le facce invece che soltanto nel recto, come erano gli esemplari romanici e gotici, ad eccezione delle croci astili e processionali, per altro più maneggevoli e di formato ridotto (dalla introduzione di Maurizio Calvesi). Nelle grandi croci stazionali della Sicilia, a differenza delle croci di piccolo formato spesso realizzate a fini devozionali e che prevedono una grande varietà di immagini diverse, l'iconografia si è inoltre consolidata su uno schema rispondente alla sua funzione liturgica e che, tranne in rari casi, rimane a lungo invariato. Esso prevede, nel recto, la figura del Crocifisso al centro, la Vergine e San Giovanni dolenti nei due capicroce ai lati, il Pantokrator ovvero l'Arbor vitae con il nido del Pellicano, emblema cristologico, in alto e la Maddalena ovvero la grotta con il teschio di Adamo in basso; nel verso troviamo invece la figura del Risorto al centro e gli emblemi dei quattro evangelisti nei capi-croce. Tuttavia in quella occasione venivano lasciate irrisolte numerose questioni inerenti soprattutto alcuni degli esemplari presentati che costituiscono ancora capitoli aperti della storia dell'arte medievale e moderna in Sicilia; basta citare per tutti la straordinaria croce della cattedrale di Piazza Armerina, name-piece per l'ancora anonimo maestro che l'ha dipinta. A quasi vent'anni da quella pionieristica pubblicazione è sembrato opportuno allora ritornare sull'argomento per cercare di chiarire i punti rimasti ancora in ombra e allargare il campo di indagine agli altri aspetti inerenti l'esposizione della croce all'interno degli edifici ecclesiastici siciliani e la sua fruizione da parte del clero e dell'assemblea dei fedeli. Si è pensato allora di estendere la ricerca sia ai modelli liturgici precedenti, ossia a partire da quando in Sicilia abbiamo contezza di un uso della croce sistematicamente inquadrabile con certezza, attraverso fonti scritte e iconografiche, e che corrisponde alle attestazioni di epoca normanna e protrarla fino alla metà del XVI secolo, quando le norme, ovvero le consuetudini e le interpretazioni, scaturite dal Concilio di Trento interromperanno la millenaria centralità della croce all'interno dell'aula ecclesiale; sia di includere le altre forme di esposizione della croce, focalizzando l'attenzione di volta in volta sulla diversità del medium, in termini di supporto e di materia utilizzati ma anche del cambiamento che esso provoca nella recezione del messaggio che si vuole trasmettere. I confini cronologici sono segnati da due date precise: nel 1149 viene redatto l'inventario dei beni mobili della Cattedrale Cefalù in cui si evince chiaramente, ed è una delle prime volte, l'uso normanno della croce processionale, che poi veniva staccata dalla sua asta e posta sull'altare, ovvero fissata nei pressi di esso; il 1555 è invece l'anno segnato sul verso dipinto della complessa macchina lignea al centro della navata della chiesa madre di Collesano, che rappresenta l'apogeo per le croci siciliane oltre che un caso unico in Italia di mantenimento di una simile struttura che focalizza tutto lo spazio liturgico. Nella rilettura delle fonti, dei documenti e della storiografia sull'argomento, fra cui si segnala la recente e corposa pubblicazione Manufacere et scolpire in lignamine, curata da Teresa Pugliatti, Salvatore Rizzo e Paolo Russo, dedicata alla scultura in legno siciliana, sono emerse non poche discordanze nell'interpretazione dei dati a nostra disposizione, che dal 1992 ad oggi, grazie a numerosi rinvenimenti documentari, hanno accresciuto la possibilità di avere un quadro più completo, anche se ancora parecchi rimangono i buchi da colmare con dati certi, ma a cui si tentato di dare comunque una risposta, seppure ipotetica. La ricerca si è avviata cercando di mettere a fuoco alcuni punti cardine che costituiscono lo scheletro su cui si è sviluppata tutta l'architettura delle argomentazioni: Le croci dipinte vanno inserite nel più ampio contesto dei Calvari stazionali, di cui esse rappresentano una particolarissima visione sintetica compiuta. I documenti e le fonti iconografiche suggeriscono infatti l'esistenza di una variegata possibilità di soluzioni per l'esposizione della croce: la sola croce dipinta, la croce dipinta e i dolenti rilevati a tutto tondo, la croce dipinta soltanto nel verso e con il Crocifisso scolpito nel recto, il solo Crocifisso scolpito, il gruppo del Calvario composto da tre statue a tutto tondo. ­La collocazione della croce all'interno dell'edificio ecclesiale. Gli studi precedenti si sono soffermati soltanto sull'aspetto verticale, disputando se in origine croci e crocifissi erano appesi sotto l'arco del presbiterio, piantate a terra o, più verosimilmente, poste al di sopra del tramezzo e più frequentemente della trabeazione chiamata nei documenti per l'appunto 'lo trabo' o 'la trabe' del crocifisso. Gli equivoci in questo senso nascono principalmente da una errata interpretazione sulla sistemazione della croce nella Cattedrale normanna di Cefalù. Nel tempio ruggeriano è infatti ancora presente una monumentale croce opistografa, la più grande della Sicilia con i suoi oltre cinque metri di altezza, attribuita da Genevieve Bresc Bautier, prima, e da Maria Andaloro, poi, a Guglielmo da Pesaro, che la dovette eseguire prima del 1468, anno in cui gli viene commissionata un'altra croce dipinta per il duomo di Monreale che il pittore doveva realizzare in conformità a quella già compiuta per Cefalù. Il vescovo Preconio, probabilmente, trasferisce la monumentale croce dipinta sotto la chiave di volta del grande arco che separa la navata dell'assemblea dal transetto riservato al clero, qui infatti la trova appesa un cronista del 1592, Bartolomeo Carandino, e questo come detto ha creato numerosi equivoci circa la collocazione in origine della croce cefaludese e delle altre in Sicilia; infatti le croci siciliane si distinguono anche per non avere una base d'appoggio propria, in molte però sono ancora riconoscibili il perno che permetteva di fissarle al tramezzo o alla trave e gli anelli per l'aggancio dei tiranti che permettevano di stabilizzarla. Ma sarà soltanto con le trasformazioni interne alle aree celebrative operate nel clima tridentino, durante il quale si è accentuata la centralità della custodia eucaristica rispetto alla croce, che essa viene spostata o all'apice dell'arco del presbiterio, per non "infastidire" la visione dei riti liturgici, oppure viene collocata su un altare laterale, equiparata alle altre immagini che si moltiplicano sulle pareti delle chiese. Gli stessi documenti ci dicono però della collocazione della croce 'in mezo di la ecclesia' accentuando di più l'aspetto orizzontale, rispetto a quello verticale. La funzione principale della croce era infatti quella di dividere la chiesa in due zone, una riservata al clero e alla celebrazione dei riti e una atta ad accogliere l'assemblea dei fedeli, rispecchiando così quanto Venanzio Fortunato, innografo del VI secolo, aveva espresso nel suo Vexilla Regis, il più famoso testo liturgico dedicato alla croce, che ad un certo punto, le si rivolge con queste parole: «del corpo suo sei fatta bilancia». La funzione liturgica del verso dipinto con l'immagine del Cristo Risorto. E' stato ipotizzato che la bi-frontalità delle croci siciliane servisse per esporre nel tempo di Pasqua l'effigie della resurrezione, rigirando la tavola su se stessa. Di questo rituale non si trova però nessuna traccia nelle fonti e comunque, se vero, esso appare più un'usanza devozionale post-tridentina che una prassi della spiritualità medievale. A questo si aggiunge che per alcuni esemplari di croce, di notevoli dimensioni e con predisposizioni logistiche che non permettevano la mobilità anche parziale dell'opera, una simile operazione risulta molto improbabile. Problemi legati a questioni stilistiche e attributive. Molte attribuzioni, sia delle croci dipinte che dei gruppi scultorei, non sono condivise unanimemente dalla critica come pure in alcuni casi, fra i quali il più interessante rimane quello del convenzionalmente detto Maestro della croce di Piazza Armerina, si è dibattuto sulla formazione culturale degli artisti e circa la loro provenienza estera o l'origine locale. Una parte della ricerca ha cercato di chiarire gli aspetti prettamente liturgico ' cultuali, innanzitutto con l'analisi delle fonti liturgiche e patristiche dei testi fondativi e prescrittivi sull'uso della croce nella liturgia romana e sulla sua presenza stazionale e monumentale all'interno degli edifici di culto. Le fonti latine sono riportate nella lingua originale, mentre quelle greche o in altra lingua antica in traduzione; inoltre alcune volte, quando si sono rilevati problemi di interpretazione, si è optato per la traduzione in nota in lingua corrente. Si sono prese in esame sia le fonti generali della Patrologia Latina sia le fonti liturgiche locali, quali il cosiddetto Messale Gallicano (fine XII-inizi XIII sec.) conservato nell'Archivio Storico Diocesano di Palermo, i testi liturgici della Biblioteca del Seminario di Messina (XII sec.) e quelli più recenti della Biblioteca Centrale della Regione Sicilia e dell'Abbazia benedettina di San Martino delle Scale, costatando che dal punto di vista normativo non esistevano in Sicilia prescrizioni peculiari rispetto al resto dell'Occidente cristiano. L'ordine dei capitoli non deve essere inteso allora soltanto come successione cronologica dei fatti e delle opere presentate, ma a questa si associano la diversificazione tipologica e funzionale di tutta la consistenza delle opere rimaste e le digressioni diacroniche di carattere generale sui diversi usi della croce nel tempo. Grande spazio è stato dato anche ai temi inerenti all'iconografia e all'iconologia delle immagini, poiché ritengo che la sola lettura formale e stilistica restituisca soltanto in senso parziale la contestualizzazione di questa particolare categoria di arredo liturgico. La lettura dei diversi sistemi di immagini e la ricerca del loro linguaggio semantico non si sono fermati alla semplicistica lectio faciliori, ma si è cercato di risalire alle fonti primigenie che sottendono a ciascuno di essi, le quali probabilmente con l'andare del tempo non furono percepite più come tali, ma rimangono pur sempre testimonianze di una tradizione figurativa ininterrotta. Una parte rilevante della ricerca è stata dedicata all'indagine documentaria, mettendo insieme e rileggendo univocamente la grande mole di documenti che da Gioacchino Di Marzo (seconda metà del XIX secolo) in poi sono venuti alla luce, non avendo tralasciato quando possibile l'integrazione con nuovi dati ricavati da documenti inediti o poco conosciuti. Il capitolo I è incentrato sull'uso della croce in Sicilia in epoca normanno-sveva, quando non è documentata nessuna presenza di croci monumentali ma soltanto di quelle piccole e preziose che venivano impiegate al contempo nelle processioni e quindi collocate presso l'altare; si è analizzata l'origine della croce posta nel contesto dell'altare e il suo legame con il sacrificio eucaristico e lo sviluppo della funzione fino alla cosiddetta croce stazionale, quella cioè che precedeva nei rituali liturgici e paraliturgici il papa e anche i vescovi che erano stati autorizzati; si sono passate in rassegna le superstiti opere prodotte dalle officine del Palazzo Reale di Palermo, delle quali nessuna è oggi conservata in Sicilia, e quindi le altre tipologie che vanno dalle croci in lamine metalliche a quelle a smalto di produzione limosina. Il capitolo II affronta il tema della croce monumentale posta al centro della chiesa, ne analizza l'origine e la diffusione e quindi si sofferma sui pochi esemplari due e trecenteschi che sono scampati al degrado del tempo, da quelle di importazione centro italiana a quelle riconosciute come produzione autoctona. Inoltre è presentato l'unico esemplare di crocifisso ligneo duecentesco a essere giunto fino a noi, quello del monastero di Rifesi, oggi nella chiesa madre di Burgio (Agrigento). Nel capitolo III si sviluppa il tema del crocifisso gotico a rilievo, diffusosi nel corso del XIV secolo e che viene considerato come la nascita del crocifisso devozionale, davanti al quale riversare propositi e speranze del fedele pentito dei propri peccati. Gli esemplari più famosi in Sicilia, due del tipo 'doloroso', a Palermo e a Trapani, e uno del tipo 'cortese', a Monreale, saranno oggetto di numerosissime repliche, che addirittura nel caso del devotissimo crocifisso palermitano arriveranno fino agli inizi del XX secolo. Il Capitolo IV tratta della ripresa nel Quattrocento della produzione di croci dipinte e della sua caratterizzazione distintiva più originale nelle croci opistografe, che presentano il Crocifisso da un lato e il Risorto dall'altro. Qui si è cercato di dare delle risposte, che ovviamente rispecchiano il punto di vista dello scrivente, sui molti aspetti ancora irrisolti circa le attribuzioni di alcune opere o la loro connotazione culturale, cercando di argomentarle sulla base di dati certi. Infine il V e ultimo capitolo è dedicato alle diverse alternative alla croce dipinta, che vanno da soluzioni semplici, come il crocifisso scolpito o la croce ibrida, con alcune parti dipinte e altre a rilievo, a quelle più complesse che prevedono l'uso di croci o crocifissi affiancati dalle immagini dei due dolenti, che hanno il loro apice nella grande macchina lignea di Collesano, datata 1555. La seconda parte del testo è dedicata alla classificazione delle opere esistenti, partendo dal buon repertorio di croci dipinte e crocifissi pubblicato nel 1992, integrandole con le opere allora non inserite, soprattutto della Sicilia Orientale, e aggiungendo le opere appartenenti alle altre tipologie analizzate. I risultati di tale investigazione sono confluiti in un catalogo ragionato dove di ogni opera si è registrato collocazione, materiali e supporto, misure, provenienza, iconografia, eventuali iscrizioni, datazione, autore. Per quanto riguarda la sezione V. del catalogo, ossia quella che riguarda i crocifissi e i gruppi scultorei del XV e XVI secolo, la classificazione si deve intendere come puramente esemplificativa e assolutamente non esaustiva, perchè, in mancanza di una catalogazione preliminare, troppo numerose sono le opere e troppo vasto il territorio per poter ipotizzare una ricognizione a tappeto.

Bibliography: leaves 289-313.
v, 316 leaves., 17 p. of plates : ill. (some col.) ; 30 cm.
A study which takes as its focus five gemstones, each engraved with an image of the Crucifixion and previously dated to the Late Antique period. The study undertakes an examination of the gems' iconographic as well as compositional, physical and epigraphic evidence, and demonstrates the way in which critical information regarding the evolution of the Crucifixion image in Late Antiquity has been seriously obstructed in previous studies through the dismissal, misapplication and misinterpretation of the gems. Focusing on iconography, it presents a revised chronology for the gems, suggesting that only three are Late Antique, the fourth being early Byzantine.
Thesis (Ph.D.)--University of Adelaide, Centre for European Studies and General Linguistics, 2001

Marc Chagall est un artiste juif qui a défié l’interdiction mosaïque de représenter la divinité. Il a entre autres réalisé plusieurs tableaux sur le thème de la Crucifixion, un sujet particulièrement délicat pour un artiste attaché à son identité juive et à un art à tendance autobiographique. Ce mémoire examine les conditions qui ont permis l’adoption et le développement, par Chagall, d’une iconographie revisitée d’un important motif chrétien. Parmi les circonstances qui ont facilité l’hybridation culturelle à laquelle se livre Chagall dans ses Crucifixions, il faut signaler la liberté nouvelle, à la fois au niveau des dispositifs figuratifs et du traitement pictural, apportée par le modernisme dans l’approche des grands genres traditionnels dont relève la peinture religieuse. Dans un tout autre registre, le mémoire se penche sur les circonstances historiques exceptionnelles ayant exercé une pression pour que l’expérience tragique des Juifs du XXe siècle trouve à s’exprimer dans des images à portée universelle.
Marc Chagall is a Jewish artist who challenged the Mosaic interdiction to represent the deity. He has among others in the modern period made several paintings on the theme of the Crucifixion, a particularly sensitive issue for an artist attached to his Jewish identity and practising an art with a strong autobiographical component. This dissertation examines the conditions which allowed the adoption and the development, by Chagall, of an important Christian subject whose iconography he freely revisited. Among the circumstances that facilitated the cultural hybridization in which Chagall engaged in his Crucifixion, we must point out the new freedom, both at the level of figurative devices and pictorial treatment, brought by modernism in the approach of major traditional genres to which religious painting belongs. On a quite different register, the dissertation examines the exceptional historic circumstances met by Chagall before and during the execution of the Crucifixions. These circumstances have exerted pressure that allowed the tragic experience of the Jews of the XXth century to find expression in images of universal significance.
Pour respecter les droits d’auteur, la version électronique de ce mémoire a été dépouillée de ses documents visuels et audio‐visuels. La version intégrale du mémoire a été déposée au Service de la gestion des documents et des archives de l'Université de Montréal.

At the end of the 17th century, a small enameled cross was discovered in one of the royal graves in Saint Bendt's church in Danish Ringsted. According to the record of the administrator of the Danish Royal Treasury, the cross was found in the grave of the Danish Queen Dagmar - the daughter of the King of Bohemia, Ottokar I (+1230). Dagmar was married in 1205 to Valdemar II the Victorious, the King of Denmark. The cross - today exhibited at the National Museum in Copenhagen - is undoubtedly a Byzantine work. Most probably, it was made in the first half of the 12th century. It is so- called enkolpion, i.e. the hanging cross (gr. Έγϰόλπιου, on the chest). Both its sides are decorated with figurative scenes. The crucifixion of the Christ is depicted on one side. The Great Deēsis with St. Basil the Great and St. John Chrysostom is shown on the other side. There is a hollow in the body of the cross, in which a relic was deposited - most likely a particle of the wood of the True Cross. Although the Queen Dagmar's Cross is considered a national treasure in Denmark, only a little attention has been paid to it so far. It is almost unknown to the Czech researchers (it is briefly mentioned by J. E. Wocel, A. B. Černý, J. Květ, K. Chytil and most recently P. Balcárek). Regrettably, the most of researchers only...