{Ottonian Art [continued (4)]}[24th February 1991]

[Redbook8:296][19910224:2211]{Ottonian Art [continued (4)]}[24^th February 1991]

19910224.2211

[continued]

‘The life-size wooden crucifix figure (Domschatzkammer, Cologne) believed to have been ordered by Archbishop Gero of Cologne (ob. 976) has often been compared to this* engraving, but the Gero Crucifix is a far more powerful image and perhaps the most seminal sculptural creation of the Ottonian period. Christ is suspended from the cross, arms strained, and the severely modeled head falls on his right shoulder. The sagging body twists first one way, then the other, and the sharply drawn loincloth jaggedly contrast with the softly modeled, almost swollen flesh. The thin, twisted legs below are no longer capable of bearing any of the massive weight of the straining body. The harshness of its conception was to be of considerable importance for the next two centuries, and it foreshadows many of the most powerful Romanesque sculptural achievements.’

**

*(on the reverse of the Lothar Cross [at Aachen])

**– E[ncylopaedia of] V[isual] A[rt] 3:559

[A photocopy of an illustration inserted in the ms above this entry, captioned ‘The Gero Crucifix; oak; height of Christ 186cm (73in). Domschatzkammer, Cologne’ is not reproduced in the ts]

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