Masterful sculpture

Masterful sculpture
Bust of Christ
Flemish
Around 1500
Carved oak wood
Height 63 cm

This masterfully crafted bust of Christ comes from the Flemish region around 1500 – a time when religious sculpture was devoted to the depiction of the suffering Christ in a particularly impressive way. The so-called Man of Sorrows became one of the central devotional images in the late Gothic period: He was not only intended to show the suffering of Christ to the faithful, but also to touch them emotionally and encourage personal meditation on the sacrifice of redemption.
The figure of Christ shown here is carved from oak with the utmost attention to detail. The naked upper body bears clearly visible traces of flagellation, the ribs are visible under the sunken belly. Christ wears the crown of thorns on his head – a symbol of his kingship in the sign of humiliation and willingness to suffer.
Christ’s face is particularly expressive: The heavy, half-closed eyelids, the head tilted slightly downwards to the right and the drawn-together eyebrows convey the deepest physical and mental exhaustion. The vividly carved wrinkles around the mouth and forehead heighten the dramatic expression. Thick, flowing hair and an elaborately carved full beard frame the face, which radiates an almost unearthly dignity – despite or perhaps because of the visible pain.
Devotion to the suffering Christ was of central importance in late medieval piety. The believer was supposed to empathize with Christ’s suffering in order to connect with him spiritually – a form of empathic devotion that was also supported by such sculptures. This bust is one of those impressive examples of religious sculpture that have had an impact far beyond their time.