Spanish school; 13th-14th centuries. Wood and... Lot 9

Spanish school; 13th-14th centuries. Wood and leather. It has faults and restorations. It has damage caused by xylophages. Measurements: 27 x 27,5 x 1,5 cm. This relief shows the Crucifixion with the Virgin and Saint John the Evangelist at the feet, accompanied by two angels located on each side of the upper part of the Cross. The piece is notable for its simplicity in terms of composition and carving, typical of the period, the intention of which was born of the artist's interest in the symbolic exaltation of the subject represented. In Western art, the representation of Christ on the cross was preferred, as a narrative scene, and the figure of Saint John the Baptist was replaced by that of John the Evangelist. This image, in its conception and form, is the result of the expression of the people and their deepest feelings. It is a work that reflects an iconographic form evolved from the original Byzantine Déesis, which depicted Christ in Majesty accompanied by Mary and St John the Baptist. In Western art, the depiction of Christ on the cross was preferred, as a narrative scene, and the figure of St John the Baptist was replaced by that of John the Evangelist. Another significant change, which seeks greater naturalism, is that while in the Byzantine model both the Virgin and Saint John have their faces raised or oriented towards Christ, with their hands in a position of supplication on behalf of humanity, here they are shown mourning in the classical manner. Due to its dating to the 13th-14th centuries, we can frame this carving within the early Gothic period, which, although to a certain extent already surpassed the protagonic period, at this time some of the changes in the aesthetic mentality of the period began to take hold. Symbolic and conventional gestures and representations and the still anonymous artists were left behind. Gothic underwent an evolution from the classicism of the 13th century, in which the serene beauty of idealised naturalism was sought, to a certain mannerism of forms that could be seen in the stylisation and elongation of figures in the 14th century.