Valencian school of the XVIII century.

Valencian school of the XVIII century.
"Christ crucified".
Oil on wooden cross.
Measurements: 58 x 34,5 cm.

This expiring Christ, with his gaze directed upwards, in a silent dialogue with God, expresses a form of intimate spirituality, in accordance with the late-baroque aesthetics. The moment captured is not that of physical agony but the final moment of surrender to the Father, which places the image in a more redemptive than pathetic key. This is reflected in a serene treatment of the anatomy. Christ's body is modeled with a soft and nuanced chromatism, which gives it corporeity without resorting to violent hallmarks. The flesh tones are treated with an almost sculptural delicacy, with warm transitions between light and shadow.

During the 18th century, the Catholic Church continued to promote art as a vehicle of affective devotion and spiritual pedagogy, although in a gentler and more emotional tone than in the previous century. This image of Christ Crucified does not so much seek to thrill the viewer as to move him to a serene compassion, to a loving identification with the Redeemer. Its formal beauty serves a spiritual purpose: to elevate the soul through the sensible.

This Christ of the 18th century Valencian school represents a synthesis between the Baroque heritage and the new forms of sensibility of the Neoclassical period.