Christ crucified

This small painting, about 31 by 23 centimetres, completes, like a precious jewel, the section on Filippino Lippi. It is an evocative artwork of the maturity of the great painter from Prato. It is characterised by the influence of the preaching of Girolamo Savonarola, the well-known Dominican friar of the convent of St Mark in Florence. The artwork in fact, presents a meditation on the mystery of death and redemption through the contemplation of the body and blood of the crucified Christ.
The pale body stands out against a completely black background. A large amount of blood drains from the side, hands, and forehead wounds, soaking the cross until it is saturated with blood. No decorative element disturbs the essentiality of the composition, which has just been revived with a few gold strokes on the halo, on the inscription "INRI" on the cross, and on the drapery surrounding the waist.
Although it is very different from the design of Filippino’s works, including those on display here, the Crucifix reveals the artist’s hand in many virtuosic details. These include its anatomical rendering with subtle chromatic variations on the pale colour of the body, and his detailed depiction of the hair falling on the shoulder or the feet nailed to the cross with vigour. However, the forearms of Christ, which appear to be squeezed rags, lack naturalism. Perhaps Filippino wanted to underline and emphasise Jesus’ suffering on the cross.
The painting, purchased in 2010 in New York by the Municipality of Prato, is a small-format replica of the central figure of the so-called Valori Altarpiece, a Crucifix between the Virgin and Saint Francis that Filippino Lippi had made in 1498-1500 for the church of Saint Proculus in Florence. Unfortunately, it was destroyed in 1945. The work had been commissioned by Niccolo Valori - a member of a family that was devoted to Savonarola - for the chapel founded by his uncle Francesco, who had been killed while trying to defend Fra Girolamo from capture, then executed in 1498. 
Even this small painted table was requested from Filippino for the private devotion of a Savonarola disciple, who believed it was necessary to repent, accept the mystery of the cross with pure faith, and contemplate the inevitable nature of death in order to obtain salvation through the blood of Christ.