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In the Romanesque period many colourfully painted crucifixes were produced in which Christ usually depicted nailed alive to the Cross. This complied with the contemporary emphasis on the sufferings endured by the Son of God as representing a triumph over death. Depictions of a dead Christ on the Cross are rarer. With a few exceptions the clothes on the figure consist either of a long fitted tunic on the living, and a loin-cloth on the dead Christ.
This Majestad - Christ on the Cross, wearing a tunic, and honoured as the King of Kings - is one of the most original expressions of Catalan art. Its iconographical theme is Oriental and first appears in miniatures and the minor arts. In style the sculpture belongs to the transition period between the 11th and 12th centuries. It is the finest of a group of Majestades from a single atelier, either that of Ripoll or that of Cuxa. The excellently preserved polychromy suggests the "coloured splendour" of the Romanesque world, and the rich tunic emphasizes the conception of the Christ-King victorious despite his torment.
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