Orazio Marinali (1643-1720)

Christ as the Man of Sorrows

Italy, about 1690

Marble relief

35 x 28.5 cm

Orazio Marinali was the leading member of a prominent family of sculptors in Vicenza, near Venice, which specialised in religious images.

Orazio’s sculptures are often of extreme emotional intensity, as in this extraordinary relief carving, which is particularly moving. Equally remarkable is Marinali’s virtuoso technique, best evidenced in the deep drilling of the hair, and his eccentric approach to anatomy; the exaggerated form of the ear is something of a trademark in his work. This is the Barber’s most recent acquisition of sculpture, and among its finest.