Images of the Grieving Christ in the Museum Collections of Saratov

Abstract

An analytical review of church statues united by the plot “Christ in the Dungeon” from Saratov and the Saratov region museums is presented in the article. Using these examples, the author draws attention to variations of the image of Christ in the last hours before the crucifixion typical of the Russian province. Assessing the wide variety of interpretations of this plot, it is necessary to take into account that, in Russia, the statues of Christ in the dungeon were created mostly in provincial workshops where the craftsmen used engraved illustrations as the source and an example. For instance, the illustrations for the Piscator Bible [Theatrum Biblicum: 1646] had served as iconographic examples for many icon-painters and carvers since the 17th century. It should be noted that most often these engraved examples provided only an impetus for sculptors and were sometimes interpreted quite arbitrarily. These circumstances gave certain freedom to sculptors and carvers creating artistic images distinguished by sculptural diversity and vivid emotional character. The statues of Christ in the dungeon are typical of the Russian province and represent images combining some details of the iconographic versions of Ecce Homo and The Man of Sorrows. Ecce Homo is an image of suffering, awaiting the crucifixion Christ with traces of flagellation, with chained or tied hands, in the Crown of Thorns, in shackles and a purple robe. As the Man of Sorrows, Christ is presented thoughtful, with a bowed head. His hand is pressed to his cheek, the wounds from the spear and nails received at the time of the crucifixion are visible on the body. Having become a kind of connection between the three museums, there are nineteen artworks in the Saratov collection of sculptures with the plot “Christ in the Dungeon”. These statues were moved from one museum to another throughout the 20th century. Initially, this group of monuments was collected in a small Petrovsky Museum of Local Lore. In the summer of 1923, members of an ethnographic expedition removed the statues of Christ in the Dungeon from the surrounding churches. At the same time, artist F. Kitavin made very accurate watercolour sketches reliably capturing the colour features of the statues and their vestments. Currently, these watercolour sketches with explanatory inscriptions may be regarded as a documentary source.