Romanesque crucifix in bronze

The representation of the Crucified as a living Christ, with open eyes, without visible signs of torment or suffering, often with a royal crown on his head, is characteristic of Romanesque art. The image emphasises the aspect of victory over death and sin and the triumph of the Christian church. In Gothic art, the representation was replaced by the image of a dead or dying Jesus on the cross with a crown of thorns on his head. The figure of Christ, called Crucifix, was initially attached to the cross, as evidenced by holes in the hand and the eyelet under feet. It represents a type of small Crucifix popular in the Romanesque period, developed at the end of the 11th century with the development of liturgical practices of the Christian Church. Due to the supreme importance of the cross among Christian symbols, crucifixes of this type were the essential equipment of churches placed on altars. They were used to make gestures in all liturgical rites. Romanesque altar crucifixes set on a spar also functioned as crosses carried during processions. Many of them were also used as reliquaries.

Kinga Krasnodębska