Croci Dipinte: Hand-Painted Italian Crucifixes by the Dal Molin Stefano

Medieval Italian crucifixes are something both distinctive and appealing. The most famous medieval, Italianate crucifix is, without a doubt, the famed San Damiano crucifix associated with St. Francis of Assisi, though there are of course others. 

Crucifixes such as these are painted directly onto wood panels -- termed croci dipinti -- akin to the way a Byzantine icon would be and many of these can still be found in many Italian churches, most especially in the region of Tuscany where the art especially was focused and flourished. Frequently crosses such as these can be found hanging in the area one might expect to see a chancel or rood screen, in the space that separates the altar and sanctuary from the nave; within churches, they are of course monumental in size, but evidently they also have the potential to be much smaller in size as well.

The workshops of Dal Molin Stefano are a firm based out of Sandrigo in the region of Veneto in the north of Italy, who produce just such crosses (original, hand painted crosses I would hasten to emphasize) for their clients. While we have featured some of these crosses before, primarily historical examples, today I thought it would be of interest to share some contemporary examples of this venerable aspect of medieval Italian art. 

Replica of the Giunta Pisano's crucifix of San Domenico

A replica of the famous San Damiano crucifix

A replica of Cimabue's Arezzo crucifix

For those interested in trying their own hand at this style of crucifix, I'd be remiss to not note that Dal Molin Stefano also sell the pre-cut, pre-pared panels by which aspiring artists can try their own hand at these sorts of impressive works. 

If you'd like to explore this possibility of commissioning an Italianate crucifix such as this (or another for that matter) whether for home or for church, I would certainly encourage you to head on over to Dal Molin Stefano's website or to reach out to them on social media to consider this and others of their offerings. 

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