The Crucified Christ

The Crucified Christ figure represents a group of mystical crucifixes popular in 15th-century art, showing the image of the tormented Christ. The representation derives from the piety associated with 14th-century mysticism and is devotional in nature. Crucifixes of this type, particularly popular in monastic circles, were intended to contemplate the suffering and death of Christ on the cross.

The sculpture is considered to be a medieval replica of the crucifix from Ciećmierz, as a piece from the same workshop. The piece from Ciećmierz – known from archival sources – was distinguished by the form of a cross shaped from bent branches curling circularly at the ends. Crosses of this type referred to as forked crosses symbolically refer to the biblical tree of life. It can be assumed that the figure in question was attached to a cross, which also imitated the model sculpture.

The statue comes from the village of Benz (Mecklenburg-Vorpommern) on the island of Usedom. It is likely to have been a fixture in the Church of St Peter that belonged to the Norbertines of the nearby monastery in Pudagli. Thus, the Benz crucifix can be associated with the culture and spirituality of the Pomeranian Premonstratensians.

The sculpture is presented in the permanent exhibition Mystery of Light. Medieval art in Pomerania.

Kinga Krasnodębska