I am interested in knowing more about a statue in the basilica in
Assisi.  It is made of black metal and depicts a supplicant on his
knees before Christ on the cross. Thue supplicant has his arms
outstretched and has long sleeves that hang down from his arms.  He is
sideways to Christ.  It is a very contemporary statue, completely out
of place in the basilica, but terrifically moving.  It is
characterized by very sharp angles and huge passion.  What is the name
of it and who made it and when?

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Request for Question Clarification by juggler-ga on 08 Nov 2003 19:40 PST

Any resemblance between the crucifix on the following page and the one
that the supplicant is kneeling before?
http://www.robertojoppolo.com/CRISTO.HTML

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Clarification of Question by mlsbmck-ga on 08 Nov 2003 22:45 PST

The Christ figure looks like the very one -- especially if his ribs
are sharp, angled, and protruding as it seems they are.  Is there a
supplicant on his knees before the crucifix?

Thank you very much!

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Request for Question Clarification by juggler-ga on 09 Nov 2003 02:20 PST

Unfortunately, I haven't been able to verify whether there's a
supplicant in front of that crucifix.

The picture is from a page of samples of artist Roborto Joppolo's work:
http://www.robertojoppolo.com/ARTESACRA.HTML

From what I can tell, Roberto Joppolo is one of the only modern
artists whose work is in the Basilica in Assisi.  In fact, according
to Joppolo's web site, his bronze sculptures were the "first works of
art in four centuries" to be added to the Basilica.

source:
" Sono le prime opere che, dopo quattro secoli, vanno ad arricchire il
patrimonio artistico di quel luogo già tanto famoso per gli affreschi
di Giotto, Cimabue, Simone Martini, ecc."
http://www.robertojoppolo.com/BIOGRAFIA.HTML
Englist translation available via Google:
http://translate.google.com/translate?hl=en&sl=it&u=http://www.robertojoppolo.com/BIOGRAFIA.HTML&prev=/search%3Fq%3Dassisi%2Bjoppolo%2Bstatua%26hl%3Den%26lr%3D%26ie%3DUTF-8

Because Joppolo's work is the first new art in the Basilica in 400
years, and because his sculptures are bronze (consistent with your
memory of a dark metal), I think that there's a very strong
possibility that the work you saw was created by Joppolo.

View Joppolo's other work at:
http://www.robertojoppolo.com/

My research is at something of a dead-end, though, because I haven't
been able to locate a photo of the supplicant.  If you consider the
information provided thus far sufficient as an answer, let me know and
I will post it as an official answer.  Thanks.

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Request for Question Clarification by juggler-ga on 09 Nov 2003 02:22 PST

Sorry for that typo:
"English translation..."

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Clarification of Question by mlsbmck-ga on 10 Nov 2003 17:31 PST

I do consider this an official answer.  And thank you very much!

Thank you!

Just to "formalize" this as an answer...

As indicated above, the statue is apparently the work of Roberto
Joppolo, who did a series of bronze sculptures for the Assisi
basilica.  Several samples are pictured on Joppolo's web site:
http://www.robertojoppolo.com/ARTESACRA.HTML  

According to his biography, Joppolo's bronze sculptures were the first
new works of art to be added to basilica in four centuries.

Italian source:
"Nel 1988 è incaricato di realizzare gli arredi in bronzo per la
cappella di preghiera nella Basilica Inferiore di S. Francesco ad
Assisi. Sono le prime opere che, dopo quattro secoli, vanno ad
arricchire il patrimonio artistico di quel luogo già tanto famoso per
gli affreschi di Giotto, Cimabue, Simone Martini, ecc."
source: Biographia di Roberto Joppolo
http://www.robertojoppolo.com/BIOGRAFIA.HTML
Translation available courtesy of Google:
http://translate.google.com/translate?hl=en&sl=it&u=http://www.robertojoppolo.com/BIOGRAFIA.HTML&prev=/search%3Fq%3Dassisi%2Bjoppolo%2Bstatua%26hl%3Den%26lr%3D%26ie%3DUTF-8

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search strategy:
assisi, statua, bronzea
bronzea, joppolo, assisi

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Thanks again!

This answer got me started on the right path.  I was totally without a
hint before I received this answer.