Ca 1800-1900 / Polychromed hardwood sculpture, with embroidered cloth and metal appurtenances / Approximately (figure) 2.13 cm; (cross) 305 x 213 cm / Artist: anonymous / Roman Catholic Church of Pakil, Laguna

Oral lore has it that the [Pakil Crucifix] was carved by a sculptor from Paete who offered to do the crucifix. Another story with legendary tones says that the crucifix was carved by a man who presented himself to the priest in exchange for food and shelter. The old man carved the image in three weeks and mysteriously disappeared just as he had come. The crucifix is noted in church inventories of 1934. Whether the crucifix goes back to the previous century cannot be ascertained as the inventory books were burned during the fire of 1851 that destroyed the Pakil convento (parish house).

The [Pakil Crucifix] belongs to the tradition of the plague crucifix. The crucifix, an image with Jesus Christ (corpus) nailed to a cross, is a central figure in Christian iconography. Early European representations of the crucified Christ presented him as a king in glory. Spurred by the many disasters, especially plagues, that scourged medieval Europe, artists took to depicting Christ in a state of extreme agony. Through such plague crucifixes, believers sought consolation in contemplating the Savior arrayed as one of them in deepest misery.

Enshrined in a rococo-inspired side altar on the right of the main portal and along the church nave, the crucifix of hardwood is flanked by smaller images of Mary and a thin and gaunt San Juan. Every sinew and every bone of the rib cage appear etched at the surface to suggest the great pain of the cross. Christ’s arms, stretched to their limits, are mere bones, yet his face exhibits the calm of resignation to the divine will. The head tilted to the right, with eyes half open, is a picture of beatific bliss. To mitigate the horror of crucifixion, streams of blood coming from the many wounds of Christ are depicted in stylized fashion, reminiscent of chrysanthemums painted in the Chinese manner. A rivulet of blood, running down the center of the crucified figure, is painted in thin crimson strokes. This seeming contradiction of the triumphant theme underlying this depiction of suffering is accentuated by potencias (triple metal rays of light emanating from Christ’s head), a wig, and a richly embroidered loincloth overlaid with a chased metal ornament; all of these were later added by devotees. The devotees’ anointing of the corpus’s lower limbs with balsam has given them a deep dark patina.