Spanish school; first half of the 17th century.

Spanish school; first half of the XVII century.
"Christ".
Oil on panel.
Measurements: 55 x 33 x 2.5 cm.
This painting responds to an eminently devotional function. The composition presents Christ crucified in a frontal and axial disposition, isolated on the cross and cut out against a dark and sober background. This compositional approach, characteristic of Spanish religious painting of the period, eliminates any superfluous accessory element to concentrate all the attention on the figure of the Crucified One. The barely suggested landscape in the background and the symbolic presence of the skull at the foot of the cross reinforce the theological reading of the episode, alluding to Golgotha and the redemption from original sin.
From the technical point of view, the work is executed in oil on canvas, with a meticulous treatment of the human body. The anatomy of Christ is represented with a restrained but precise naturalism, evidencing the baroque interest in bodily veracity and the physical expressiveness of suffering. The volumetric modeling is supported by a pronounced chiaroscuro, an essential resource in the Spanish school of the 17th century, which allows to emphasize the musculature and the tension of the body by means of a directed and contrasted illumination.
The chromatism is austere and reduced, dominated by ochre, brown and earthy tones, in keeping with the aesthetic severity typical of the Hispanic environment. The white of the purity cloth introduces a focus of light that visually balances the composition, while the traces of blood, treated with restraint, emphasize the martyrdom without falling into excessive dramatism. Christ's face, inclined and with a restrained expression, conveys a mixture of pain and acceptance that refers to the introspective spirituality promoted by the religiosity of the time.