CRUCIFIX

The bronze Crucifix over the grey sandstone sacristy altar is traditionally attributed to the artist from Bologna, Alessandro Algardi. One of the greatest Baroque sculptors, he was prolific in Rome. He executed the tomb of Leo XI and the bronze monument to Innocent X in the Basilica of St. Peter. The Perugia Crucifix, that can be dated at about 1630, was inspired by a crucifix executed by the Flemish sculptor Jean de Boulogne, called Giambologna, which represents Christ still alive, his gaze heavenward. Objects of this kind, because of their small size, were very much sought-after by private commissions. For this reason, the Algardi crucifix was copied several times. The version in San Pietro can be usefully compared with that in the Pallavicini Rospigliosi Palace in Rome. Alessandro Algardi has a marble sculpture in Perugia, a bust of Elisabetta Contucci, an extraordinary, virtuoso work that can still be admired in the presbytery of the Church of San Domenico (1648).