The fragmentary and fragile face of the crucified Christ, applied in tempera to a cloth halo disc fixed to a 900-year-old wooden cross that may have hung inside the Chiesa di Sant’Alessandro (Church of Saint Alexander) in Volterra, Tuscany, Italy, ever since the building was consecrated by Pope Callixtus II in 1120 AD. The body of Jesus was depicted by the unknown 12th century Tuscan artist with a bare torso and thin arms bound to the cross. The simple church in Borgo Sant'Alessandro was probably built on the remains of a pagan temple.

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Volterra, Tuscany, Italy: the fragmentary and fragile face of the crucified Christ, applied in tempera to a cloth halo disc fixed to a 900-year-old wooden cross that may have hung inside the Chiesa di Sant’Alessandro (Church of Saint Alexander) ever since the building was consecrated by Pope Callixtus II in 1120 AD. Below the face, the body of Jesus was depicted by the unknown 12th century Tuscan artist with the torso bare and with thin arms bound to the cross. The simple and austere church in Borgo Sant'Alessandro was probably built on an earlier religious site, the remains of a pagan temple. The cross hangs on a bare stone wall to the left or north of the altar.

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Size: 2592px × 3872px
Location: Chiesa di Sant’Alessandro, Volterra, Tuscany, Italy.
Photo credit: © Terence Kerr / Alamy / Afripics
License: Royalty Free
Model Released: No

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