This magnificent Crucifixion in bronze high relief comes from the collection of Professor Sordi, owner of the Medicean Villa di Lappeggi near Florence. The relief appeared on the art market following the sale of the Villa’s furnishings held at the Pandolfini auction house in May 2002.
After belonging to some of the most eminent families in Tuscany, the Medicean Villa di Lappeggi became part of the Medicean estates in 1569, following its acquisition by Don Francesco de’ Medici. He passed it on to Ferdinando II, then to Mattias, and finally, in 1667 to Cosimo III, who decided to give it to his younger brother, Cardinal Francesco Maria Lappeggi.
The relief, which at the time of the sale was still enclosed in an oppressive contemporary late-Baroque frame with red velvet background, was first associated with the Florentine sculptor Ferdinando Tacca by Dr. Dimitrios Zikos.
The bronze relief is in the style of the painted wooden Crucifixions in silhouette of the late Cinque- and early Seicento, similar to the one datable to circa 1618 in the church of the monastery of Santa Maria Maddalena dei Pazzi sopra Careggi in which the papier mâché Christ is the work of Pietro Tacca and the figures of the Mourners are painted by the Florentine artist Francesco Curradi,
A work by Ferdinando Tacca immediately comparable to the present Crucifixion and in which the similarities are extremely close is undoubtedly the high altar he executed for the church of Santo Stefano al Ponte near the Ponte Vecchio in Florence. The Martyrdom of This magnificent Crucifixion in bronze high relief comes from the collection of Professor Sordi, owner of the Medicean Villa di Lappeggi near Florence. The relief appeared on the art market following the sale of the Villa’s furnishings held at the Pandolfini auction house in May 2002.
After belonging to some of the most eminent families in Tuscany, the Medicean Villa di Lappeggi became part of the Medicean estates in 1569, following its acquisition by Don Francesco de’ Medici. He passed it on to Ferdinando II, then to Mattias, and finally, in 1667 to Cosimo III, who decided to give it to his younger brother, Cardinal Francesco Maria Lappeggi.
The relief, which at the time of the sale was still enclosed in an oppressive contemporary late-Baroque frame with red velvet background, was first associated with the Florentine sculptor Ferdinando Tacca by Dr. Dimitrios Zikos.
The bronze relief is in the style of the painted wooden Crucifixions in silhouette of the late Cinque- and early Seicento, similar to the one datable to circa 1618 in the church of the monastery of Santa Maria Maddalena dei Pazzi sopra Careggi in which the papier mâché Christ is the work of Pietro Tacca and the figures of the Mourners are painted by the Florentine artist Francesco Curradi,
A work by Ferdinando Tacca immediately comparable to the present Crucifixion and in which the similarities are extremely close is undoubtedly the high altar he executed for the church of Santo Stefano al Ponte near the Ponte Vecchio in Florence. The Martyrdom of Saint Stephen was commissioned from Ferdinando Tacca by the Bartolomei family from whom he received an advance of 300 scudi in May 1650.
In the fundamental monograph on the work in Santo Stefano al Ponte, written by Anthea Brook and edited by Dimitrios Zikos, Tacca’s scenographic ability emerges in the creation of theatrical perspectives in the Florentine figurative tradition of reliefs established by Donatello and Ghiberti and developed by Verrocchio and his pupils.
The religious episode of the bronze Crucifixion unfolds before our eyes as though in a theatre performance. The ideal stage is occupied on the right by the group of the mourning Marys and by Mary Magdalen turning towards Christ. Jutting out from the group towards the spectator is one of Virgin’s knees, and she is depicted suffering and supported in a highly dramatic tension by the two women situated behind her. This tangibly increases the perception of space and the depth of the relief. On the spectator’s left, Saint John the Evangelist, in the traditional pose of suffering with his head resting on his right hand, and the left appearing to indicate to us the martyrdom to which we should be turning our attention.
The play in the proportions of the figures suggest that the relief was intended to be placed on an altar, or considering its modest dimensions, perhaps destined to adorn a private chapel.
In the work’s previous setting in its frame, two angels slightly inferior in quality were added, supporting a cloth and certainly part of the same sculptural group, although probably part of the external frame of the work.
The same workmanship in the wings of the two Angels, decorated towards the bottom and smooth at the top, situates them higher than the cross as though they were holding up a theatre curtain. This type of fluttering angel, however, like those on the ceiling of the church of Santa Maria Addolorata e San Filippo Benizzi in Monte Senario modelled by the sculptor Giovanni Martino Portogalli constitute a topos of Florentine Baroque sculpture and decoration.
Behind the Crucifixion are the original nuts and screws. It is not difficult to imagine it originally mounted against a background of precious marbles or pietre dure. In fact the idea of using different materials in order to increase the theatrical effect of a religious scene was common practice in many works of the time.
Despite his role as court sculptor, from around 1650 and because of his economic difficulties, Ferdinando Tacca devoted part of his activity to theatrical productions. In fact, from 1650 until 1670 he collaborated on the creation of sets for the aristocratic Teatro del Cocomero, theatrical apparatus and subsequently, from 1664, the creation from its founding of the Teatro della Pergola.