The Cross painted (half of the XIV sec. ), artist work near the mosaicists of S. Marco
The Painted Cross is one of the most precious works in the Museo Diocesano of Chioggia. A typical byzantine cross it may originate from the collection of icons of the ancient basilica of the city and dates from the second quarter of the 14th century, contemporary with the polyptych of Paolo Veneziano.
The artist is unknown but the expressive language appear similar to the styles of the mosaicists of St Mark's, exponents of the classical style in the Venice which coexisted at the time with the 'modernism' introduced by Paolo Veneziano. Painted in tempera on a poplar panel, one characteristic of this piece is the curious curved-edge carved border different from the more simple, straight-edged Tuscan crosses of the period. The figure of Christ a move away from the two-dimensional Byzantine style and hints at a more sculptural quality like that of Giotto, diffuse in the Veneto at the time. The posture of the Saviour, his head lowered, eyes half-closed and his body visibly flexed forward suggesting a style typical of the Tuscan “Christ Suffering”.
At the top of the cross is the image of an angel with a scroll, meanwhile at the ends of the arms appear the typical representations of St. John on the left and the Madonna cleary suffering on the right.
