Francesco Messina - The Christ

A popular iconography throughout the history of Western art, the Crucifixion has its origins in the early Christian era and has developed over the centuries, culminating in the most recent expressions of contemporary art. The traditional iconography of Jesus on the cross has infinite variations, from the simplest, featuring only the crucified Jesus Christ, to the version accompanied by the "mourners," the Madonna and St. John the Evangelist. In the Middle Ages, Crucifixion scenes began to become increasingly elaborate: the thieves' crosses were added, and, gradually, more and more characters, until they became the subject of large choral scenes. It is often also accompanied by symbolic elements, such as, for example, the presence of
of the sun and the moon or the skull of Adam under the cross of Christ (which signifies the redemptive action of Christ's Passion against original sin).

Francesco Messina's research focuses on the study of the human body, which is the central focus of his sculptures. As we can see from this Christ, he has an exquisitely classical vision of it, dictated by principles of naturalistic rendering, harmony, and balance. The representation is based on a clear exaltation of plasticity, modeled softly and with refined anatomical precision. Even the movement and torsion of the body are rendered naturally.

Francesco Messina was born in Linguaglossa in 1900 and died in Milan in 1995. He was primarily a sculptor. He created important Italian monuments, such as the Stations of the Cross in San Giovanni Rotondo; the RAI Horse; and the Monument to Pius XII in St. Peter's Basilica. His works are held in numerous museums both in Italy and abroad. Critics compare him to Manzù, Sassu, and Marini for his exploration of the human figure, recontextualized according to a contemporary sensibility.

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