COLLECTION NAME:
The AMICA Library
Record
AMICA ID:
CMA_.1943.280
AMICA Library Year:
2000
Object Type:
Paintings
Creator Name:
Master of Santa Chiara
Creator Nationality:
European; Southern European; Italian
Creator Role:
artist
Creator Dates/Places:
1563 - 1639 - bef 1498
Gender:
M
Creator Name-CRT:
Master of Santa Chiara
Title:
Processional Cross
Title Type:
Primary
View:
Full View
Creation Date:
c, 1320
Creation Start Date:
1315
Creation End Date:
1325
Materials and Techniques:
oil on canvas on wood
Dimensions:
Unframed: 61.3cm x 44.2cm x 2.6cm
AMICA Contributor:
The Cleveland Museum of Art
Owner Location:
Cleveland, Ohio, USA
ID Number:
1943.280
Credit Line:
Purchase from the J. H. Wade Fund
Provenance:
Charles Loeser, Florence; Achille de Clemente, Florence (New York sale 1931); William Randolph Hearst (New York sale 1941); (Adolphe Loewi, Los Angeles)
Context:
This cross was originally mounted on a tall pole and carried in religious processions. Therefore, the figures on each side are almost identical. In the center is Christ crucified. Looking on from the elaborate terminals at left and right are the Virgin and St. John. The bottom terminal shows a different saint on each side: St. Francis on one and St. Clare on the other. At the top of each side is an angel. Although one angel looks up and the other down, both express intense grief in their faces and gestures.The Master of Santa Chiara (St. Clare) is the name given to this unknown artist who painted this and several other works in Assisi. In that city, St. Francis founded an order of friars while St. Clare established a counterpart for women called the Poor Clares. The presence of both saints on this cross suggests that it was made for one of Assisi's Franciscian institutions.
Related Image Identifier Link:
CMA_.1943.280.tif
