Christ of the Pietà. Normandy, ca. 1500

Christ of the Pietà. Normandy, ca. 1500.
Carved wood, with traces of polychrome.
Catalogued in the book "Statuaire médiévale en France de 1400 à 1530", by Jacqueline Boccador, fig. 267.
Provenance: Philippe Dodier Collection.
Measurements: 117 cm (sculpture height); 122 cm (height with base, from a later period).

This is a remarkable example of Norman statuary from around 1500. The figure, masterfully carved, is imbued with a deep solemnity.

The work represents Christ in the iconography of the Man of Sorrows or Ecce Homo, seated on a formless rock that prefigures Golgotha. The anatomy, far from any classicist idealization, adheres to the expressionist aesthetics of late Gothic. The torso, of ascetic thinness, exhibits a prominently marked rib cage, an echo of the torments suffered and a prelude to the crucifixion. The spindly legs have been turned with great skill and emotional intention. The arms, tied with a rope that girdles the wrists, cross over the lap. The hands, long and bony, do not show tension, but resignation and abandonment.

The face is the focus of pathos. Framed by long locks of hair and a bushy beard, the elongated countenance emanates a sorrowful and restrained expression. The almond-shaped eyes have an interiorized gaze, seeking to plunge us into the depths of suffering. The half-open mouth becomes a prefiguration of the last breath.

The carving of the fruit wood, rough and unpolished, accentuates the austerity and dramatic force of the whole. The imperfections of the material dialogue with the wounds and the exhaustion of the body. Although today mostly naked, the surface retains traces of the original polychrome, a faint echo of the colors that once enlivened the gaunt flesh and bleeding wounds, intensifying the devotional realism of the piece.

This sculpture, catalogued by the distinguished historian Jacqueline Boccador and from the collection of Philippe Dodier, is an eloquent testimony to the spirituality of the late Middle Ages. An art that does not seek formal beauty, but the soul's emotion, confronting the faithful with the suffering humanity of their redeemer and turning wood into a vehicle for the deepest meditation on suffering and piety.