Neapolitan school, ca. 1700.
"Ecce Homo.
Painted... Lot 15
result :
Not available
Estimate :
Subscribers only
Neapolitan school, ca. 1700.
"Ecce Homo.
Painted terracotta.
Wooden base carved, gilded and polychromed in the 19th century.
Measurements: 30 cm. high; 8 x 22 x 23 cm. (base).
Piece of imagery in rounded bulk and half body. It represents an Ecce Homo and is faithful to its iconography. The cloth of purity folded to one side with drapery, as well as the undulations of the locks of hair that fall on either side of the beautiful face of Jesus, are characteristic of the Neapolitan school. Naturalism prevails in the anatomy, but all traces of pathos are subtracted, yielding instead to a certain idealising taste in the features. Crowned with thorns and with his hands tied, Ecce Homo symbolises the moment when Christ was handed over to the Jewish people to be judged, after Pontius Pilate wanted to absolve himself of all responsibility. Jesus' expressive, melancholic and highly sympathetic gaze stands out. His large eyes illuminate the nobility of his features. The hands are also skilfully modelled.
Neapolitan sculpture shows a marked taste for naturalism, a trend in which this piece is part of. This taste for Neapolitan naturalism is evident, for example, in the tradition of nativity scenes, as well as in the carving of groups of the Holy Sepulchre. Both the nativity scenes and the groups of the Holy Sepulchre and the vestments have a strong dramatic, scenographic component. They were also sculptures or sculptural groups that played an important role in the liturgy at different times of the year: at Easter, Christmas and other important festivals, where the celebration of mass involved, in various ways, the participation of these sculptures, which were, for the faithful, a powerful illustration of the mysteries around which the sermons and homilies revolved.
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