On December 11, 1925 the Pope Pius XII established the Feast of Christ the King which was celebrated on Sunday, November 24 and marked the last Sunday of the Liturgical Year. In establishing it, the Pope wanted to motivate Catholics to recognize in public that the ruler of the Church is Christ the King. Subsequently, the date of celebration was moved, giving it a new meaning. At the close of the Liturgical Year, in which the mystery of his life, his preaching and the proclamation of the Kingdom of God were meditated upon, the importance of Christ as the center of all universal history was emphasized.
The celebration of the Solemnity of Christ the King continues to be one of the most important feast days of the liturgical calendar. To commemorate it, GRANDA has recovered from its archives this image of Christ the King, which is part of the mausoleum where are buried the remains of Monsignor Frutos Valiente, Bishop of Salamanca. This beautiful work was produced in 1933-34 by Mr. Félix Granda y Buylla. The tomb is located in the chapel of Santa Teresaone of the lateral chapels of the New Cathedral of Salamanca.
It is a Majesty neo-Romanesque representing Christ on the cross, majestic, living Christ, with open eyes, arms outstretched almost horizontally. The origin of these images is in the Byzantine oriental Christ of the 6th to 10th centuries, which the artists represented with a close-fitting tunic without sleeves, called colobium. This image of Christ became very popular, especially in Italy where it appeared in the city of Lucca (in Tuscany), the Santo Volto, a Christ of these characteristics that became famous.
The work repeats iconographic elements already used by don Félix, such as the scenes on the sides, which represent Christ among his enemies and Christ with his disciples. This motif, which is very similar, is seen in the ivory reliefs of the display for the monstrance of the Cathedral of Burgos, also made by the founder of GRANDA in the art workshops.
