You wrote:
“My disapproval of anything or anyone being draped on the Cross as if to say it or he is equal to Christ is a matter of spiritual discernment not art appreciation.”
You lack discernment. The figure is not draped on the cross. She has one arm - one arm - draped on one cross beam and it is clearly a sign of her longing for the figure Who had been there - Jesus Christ. There is nothing in the sculpture that even remotely hints that the artist meant to portray the the woman (Mary?) as equal to Christ or that the artists intended you to come to that bizarre conclusion. The misinterpretation is cleary entirely on your end. You have no discernment worth speaking of in this matter.
For the LORD thy God [is] a consuming fire, [even] a jealous God. - Deut 4:24
“To God be the glory, not man, never man!”
You do realize that your verse from Deut. has NOTHING to do with the actual statue since there is no indication whatsoever that the artist was trying to supplant God?
Also, God will share His glory with us. Even Protestants usually admit this. It’s in their Bible translations:
“With Your counsel You will guide me, And afterward receive me to glory” (Psalm 73:24, NASB 1995).
“For the Lord God is a sun and shield; The Lord gives grace and glory; No good thing does He withhold from those who walk uprightly” (Psalm 84:11, NASB 1995).
Do I even need to mention 1 Cor. 15:43 or Philippians 3:21?
How about 2 Timothy 2:11-12? Heb. 2:10 ring a bell?
What??? A mother was touching the tool used to kill her Son in a way that indicated sadness????? There’s a sculptor that will burn in hell, no doubt....
Love God. Believe Him. Trust Him.