Christ Bound

1620s

François Duquesnoy

Sculptor, Flemish, 1597 - 1643

This carved ivory statue shows a mostly nude man standing on a square base with his hands bound to one side as he looks over the other shoulder. In this photograph, his wrists are tied together to our right, and he looks off to our left with his face tucked close to that shoulder. He has a curly beard and long wavy hair, which is pushed back over his shoulders. His lips are parted and his brows gathered. Both feet are planted on the base but most of his weight rests on his straight right leg, on our left, and the other knee is bent. This makes his right hip, on our left, jut out as his torso angles to our right. A loincloth drapes around his hips and ties at his right hip, on our left. His torso, arms, and legs are muscled, and veins stand out on his hands and arms. Some cracks are visible along the surface.

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Physical perfection becomes an expression of sanctity in this statuette. Duquesnoy, a Fleming working in Rome, created monumental sculpture that earned him esteem rivaling that of his great Italian contemporaries Bernini and Algardi. His Roman career began, however, with small carvings in ivory, whose material qualities of luminosity, reception of detail, and appeal to touch inspired the creation of sculptural masterpieces for thousands of years. Duquesnoy's elegantly proportioned yet naturalistic Christ twists in a precariously balanced pose. His anguished face may echo prints from northern Europe. This work offers the finest known rendition of a highly popular design. A clay version depicted in an 18th-century print bore an attribution to Duquesnoy.

West Building Main Floor, Gallery 29
On View

West Building Main Floor, Gallery 29

Artwork overview

  • Medium

    ivory

  • Credit Line

    Patrons' Permanent Fund

  • Dimensions

    height (with integral plinth): 32.8 cm (12 7/8 in.)

  • Accession

    2007.67.1

Artwork history & notes

Provenance

Private collection, South America; art market, Italy; (Altomani, Milan); sold March 2006 to (Blumka Gallery, New York) and (Julius Böhler Kunsthandlung, Stamberg); sold March 2006 to (Daniel Katz, Ltd., London);[1] sold 21 June 2007 to NGA.
[1] The sales from Altomani to Blumka and Böhler to Katz all took place at the opening of TEFAF (The European Fine Art Fair) Maastricht in The Netherlands. See the acquisition proposal for the sculpture by Nicholas Penny, 1 May 2007, in NGA curatorial files; confirmed by verbal communication from Anthony Blumka to Mary Levkoff, March 2009.

Associated Names

Bibliography

2007

  • Luchs, Alison. "Attributed to François Duquesnoy, Christ Bound." National Gallery of Art Bulletin no. 37 (Fall 2007): 17, repro.

2013

  • Katz, Daniel, and Nicholas Penny. Daniel Katz: 45 Years of European Sculpture. London, 2013: 48, no. 13, 49 repro.

2015

  • "Art for the Nation: The Story of the Patrons' Permanent Fund." National Gallery of Art Bulletin, no. 53 (Fall 2015): 29, repro.

2017

  • Dickerson III, C.D. "The Sculpture Collection: Shaping a Vision, Expanding a Legacy." _ National Gallery of Art Bulletin_ 56 (Spring 2017): 12-13, repro.

2019

  • Katz, Daniel, et al. Daniel Katz: A Celebration of Fifty Years Immersed in Art. London, 2019: 42-43, 70-75, no. 11, repros. 71, 73-75.

Wikidata ID

Q63863739

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