Christ Carrying the Cross

What you see

The scene is seen at very close range. Christ, wearing the crown of thorns, fills the center and right; the cross rests on his shoulder and he steadies it with a raised hand. He turns his head and looks straight at us. At upper left, Simon of Cyrene, with white hair and beard, pushes the beam from behind, eyes lowered. The heavy crossbar cuts diagonally across the picture.

Almost everything is brown and ochre, except for the violet pink of the robe, which seems made of patches of light. Outlines dissolve into shadow. Look for the tear running down Christ’s cheek and the hand with a gold ring, on the left, that also grips the cross.