Giotto, Via Crucis
Italian, 1304-1306
Padua, Scrovegni (Arena) Chapel
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"Then Pilate handed him over to them to be crucified. So they took Jesus, and carrying the cross himself, he went out to what is called the Place of the Skull, in Hebrew, Golgotha."
(John 19:16-17, Passion of the Lord Jesus Christ According to John, Reading for Good Friday)
Every one of the Gospels includes the story of the Carrying of the Cross, though they differ slightly in one detail. The Synoptic Gospels (Matthew, Mark and Luke) include the story of Simon the Cyrenean, a man plucked from the street to carry the cross, presumably because Jesus was so weakened by the tortures He had received that He was unable to bear that burden by Himself. The writer of the Gospel of John seems to have considered this a somewhat irrelevant detail and is, in fact, at pains to state that Jesus carried the cross Himself. Tradition has conflated the two points of view and insists that both things happened. Jesus began carrying the cross Himself, but that after falling several times (a detail not found in any Gospel) Simon was impressed by the soldiers to carry the heavy load.
Images of the Carrying of the Cross (also called the Via Crucis) can generally be divided into two categories: narrative images and devotional images. The narrative images relate at least some of the details of the journey to Calvary (Golgotha) and involve other individuals. The specific incidents and number of people involved vary considerably, however. It may be as few as one person or a cast of thousands.
Livre d'images de Madame Marie Belgium (Hainaut), ca. 1395-1290 Paris, Bibliotheque nationale de France MS Nouvelle acquistion francaise 16251, fol. 37v |
Simone Martini Italian, 1333 Paris, Musée du Louvre |
Jean le Noir, from Petites heures de Jean de Berry French (Paris), ca. 1375 Paris, Bibliotheque nationale de France MS Latin 18014, fol. 86v (detail) |
Hans Memling, Scenes from the Passion (detail) Flemish, 1470-1471 Turin, Galleria Sabauda |
Adam Dircksz, Prayer Nut Dutch, ca. 1500 Amsterdam, Rijksmuseum |
Pordonone Italian, 1520 Cremona, Cathedral |
Matthias Gruenwald German, 1523-1524 Karlsruhe, Kunsthalle |
Giovanni Battista Tiepolo Italian, 1737-1738 Venice, Church of Sant'Alvise |
James Tissot French, 1886-1894 New York, Brooklyn Museum |
Sometimes the actual action of carrying the cross seems lost in a vast quantity of other incidents going on at the same time.
Hieronymous Bosch Dutch, 1480s Vienna, Kunsthistorisches Museum |
Pieter Brueghel the Elder Flemish, 1564 Vienna, Kunsthistorisches Museum |
The devotional image, however, is much simpler and quieter. It generally involves the action of only two individuals – Jesus with his cross and the viewer who gazes on the painting. Jesus is posed in a solitary space, usually against a simple background, though sometimes in a landscape. It is to some extent a vision of Christ close in spirit, if not in form, to an icon. It is for contemplation and prayer.
Alvise Vivarini Italian, No Date (died in 1503) Venice, Basilica dei Santi Giovanni e Paolo |
Jan Gossaert Flemish, 1520-1525 New York, Metropolitan Museum of Art |
El Greco Greco-Spanish, 1590s New York, Metropolitan Museum of Art |
Hieronymous Bosch Dutch, 1515-1516 Ghent, Museum voor Schone Kunsten |
Lorenzo Lotto Italian, 1526 Paris, Musée du Louvre |
Titian Italian, ca. 1565 Madrid, Museo Nacional del Prado |
Titian Italian, 1570-1575 Madrid, Museo Nacional del Prado |
All the images make worthy points for meditation on this Mystery.
© M.
Duffy, 2013
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