Recumbent Christ
1567 - 1572. Tempera on twill / twill weave canvas.On display elsewhere
Lenten veils often imitated painted sculptures. This can be seen in Urbina’s recumbent Christ. This figure is characterised by a corporeal and emphatic draughtsmanship that is particularly evident in the motionless arm, an imitation of that of Michelangelo’s David, which was repeatedly used by Becerra in his sculptures. With their pale, dull colours, sargas were a sort of attenuated version of the vital force of the sculptures themselves, which were characterised by their colour and variety. The idea that an absence of colour was synonymous with death, present in the collective imaginary since ancient times, would have been grasped immediately by the faithful.
Arias Martínez, Manuel, Darse la mano. Escultura y color en el Siglo de Oro, Madrid, Museo Nacional del Prado, 2024, p.334-335
