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| Guiseppe Bazzani, Jesus Falls Italian, c.1750 Paris, Musée du Louvre |
No passage in the Gospels tells us much about the physical effort it took for Jesus to carry the cross from Pilate’s judgment seat to the hill of Calvary outside the walls of Jerusalem. The sole indication we have is the reference in the three Synoptic Gospels to a bystander who was forced to help Him carry it, as we shall see shortly. 1
However, it is certainly not surprising that a man who had
been taken prisoner the night before, subjected to hostile questioning and to brutal beatings and torture would be in a much weakened state and,
consequently, subject to falling under the heavy weight of a substantial piece
of wood. This would be true whether the
cross was a full sized complete cross (which would probably have stood about
nine feet high) or even just a cross beam, which could have been affixed as
needed to uprights that were permanent fixtures of the place of execution.
I stand about 5 feet, 4 inches tall and I
have measured the full extension of my arms.
It is approximately the same as my height, a crossbeam to which a body
my size should be affixed would have to be at least 6 feet long. So, presuming that He stood a bit taller than
I am, for Jesus you will need to think of a crossbeam measuring 6 feet at a
minimum. Therefore, whether we are imagining
a full cross or even just a crossbeam, we are talking about very large pieces
of wood being carried by a person who had been allowed no sleep, probably no
food or water and had also probably lost a considerable amount of blood before
setting out. Small wonder that He should
fall and need to be helped!
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| Master of Claude de France, Jesus Falls From Prayer Book of Claude de France French (Tours), 1515-1520 New York, Pierpont Morgan Library MS M 1166, fol. 12v |
Tradition, preserved in the Stations of the Cross, suggests
that He fell at least three times, giving us the three stations that have
basically the same name. In the images
of the road to Calvary that have been produced by artists over the centuries,
it is virtually impossible to tell the falls apart, though in some there are
subtle hints, as we shall see.
 |
| Eric Gill. Jesus Falls the First Time English, 1913-1918 London, Westminster Cathedral |
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| Eric Gill. Jesus Falls the Second Time English, 1913-1918 London, Westminster Cathedral |
 |
| Eric Gill. Jesus Falls the Third Time English, 1913-1918 London, Westminster Cathedral |
The pictures that show Jesus fallen, with no one to help Him,
could be seen as images of the First Fall, the Third Station.
Third Station -- First Fall
Third Station -- First Fall
 |
| Jesus Falls From a Book of Hours French (Langres), c. 1480-1495 New York, Pierpont Morgan Library MS M 26, fol. 112v |
 |
| Quinten Metsys, Jesus Falls Flemish, c. 1510-1515 Maastricht, Bonnefantenmsuseum |
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| Francesco Bassano, Jesus Falls Italian, 1572 Paris, Musée du Louvre |
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| Pieter de Jode after Maarten de Vos, Jesus Falls, From Thesaurus Novi Testamenti elegantissimus iconibus expressus continens historias atque miracula domini nostri Jesu Christi Flemish, c.1580 London,© Trustees of the British Museum |
 | ||
| Lubin Baugin, Jesus Falls French, 1640-1663 Orleans, Musée des Beaux-Arts
|
 |
| Charles LeBrun, Jesus Falls French, 1688 Paris, Musée du Louvre |
 |
| Giovanni Battista Tiepolo, Jesus Falls Italian, 1737-1738 Venice, Church of Sant'Alvise |
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| Giandomenico Tiepolo, Christ Falls Italian, 1772 Madris, Museo Nacional del Prado |
Seventh Station -- Second Fall
Those that show Him fallen, with someone helping to raise
the cross from His body so that He can rise again, can be seen as images of the
Second Fall, the Seventh Station. In
them we can see Simon the Cyrenian, who had been pressed into service to assist
Him. We may also see the presence of
Mary and other women and the Apostle John, who met Him in the Fourth Station
and follow Him.
 |
| Guillaume Hugueniot, Jesus Falls From Hours of Pierre de Bosredont French, (Langres), 1460-1470 New York, Pierpont Morgan Library MS G 55, fol. 14r |
 |
| Master Francois and Collaborators, Jesus Falls From Speculum historiale by Vincentius Bellovacensis French (Paris), 1463 Paris, Bibliotheque nationale de France MS Francais 50, fol. 231v |
 |
| Fall of Christ under the Cross Dutch, c. 1500-1525 Maastricht, Bonnefanten Museum |
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| Bernard van Orley, Jesus Falls Flemish, 1534 Bruges, Church of Our Lady |
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| Veronese, Jesus Falls Italian, c. 1550-1600 Paris, Musée du Louvre |
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| Titian, Fallen Jesus Italian, c.1560 Madrid, Museo Nacional del Prado |
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| Paris Nogari, Jesus Falls Italian, c. 1585-1590 Rome, Church of the Madonna dei Monti |
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| Juan de Valdes Leal, Fallen Jesus on the Way to Calvary Spanish, c. 1661 Madrid, Museo Nacional del Prado |
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| Pierre Mignard, Jesus Falls French, 1687 Paris, Musée du Louvre |
 |
Nicolas de Largilliere, Jesus Falls French, c. 1710-20 Paris, Musée du Louvre |
Ninth Station -- Third Fall
In the images that show Jesus much weakened, falling yet
again, with the presence of Simon, Mary and others and especially of Veronica,
the woman who wiped His face, and who was introduced in the Eighth Station,
obviously represent the Ninth Station, the Third and final Fall.
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| Anonymous, Jesus Falls and Jesus Is Stripped of His Garments German, 15th Century Paris, Musée du Louvre In this image Jesus is also shown being Stripped of His Garments, which is the subject of the Tenth Station |
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| Jean Pichore, Jesus Falls From an Altar Card French (Paris), c. 1510-1530 New York, Pierpont Morgan Library MS M 1147, fol. 1r |
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| Master of the Expulsion of Hagar, Jesus Falls Dutch, c. 1510-1520 Paris, Musée du Louvre |
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| Anonymous, Jesus Falls French, 16th Century Senlis, Musée d'Art et d'Archeologie |
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| Francesco Bassano the Younger, Jesus Falls Italian, c.1580 Dublin, National Gallery of Ireland |
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| Salvatore Rosa, Jesus Falls Italian, c. 1662-1673 Chantilly, Musée Condé |
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| Anonymous, Jesus Falls French, 1675-1700 Paris, Musée du Louvre |
Devotional Images
There are also a handful of images that cannot be identified
as one fall or the other. These again have
the character of the devotional image, presented to our eyes so that we may
become, as it were, a spectator as Jesus falls in front of us on His painful
journey to Calvary.
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| Bartolome Esteban Murillo, Fallen Jesus Spanish, ca. 1660 Cherbourg-Octeville, Musée Thomas Henry |
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| Eugene Deveria, Fallen Jesus French, 1846 Pau, Musée des Beaux-Arts |
© M. Duffy, 2016
_________________________________________________________________________
1.
Matthew
27:32, Mark 15:21, Luke 23:26.
Scripture texts in this
work are taken from the New American Bible, revised edition© 2010,
1991, 1986, 1970 Confraternity of Christian Doctrine, Washington, D.C. and are
used by permission of the copyright owner. All Rights Reserved. No part of the
New American Bible may be reproduced in any form without permission in writing
from the copyright owner.
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