03 — ARTWORK
Christ Carrying the Cross
- MEDIUM
- Oil tempera on wood, 57 x 72 cm
- TYPE
- Religious
PALETTE
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- FILE
- 1300 × 1021 px · JPEG
COMMENTARY
UNDERLINED TERMS ARE DEFINED IN THE GLOSSARY.
In this composition the landscape fills the picture space and the events related to the Road to Calvary are integrated in this. The route begins at the town on the left - signifying Jerusalem - through a hilltop village, then the winding path leads to the place of crucifixionAn important method of capital punishment, particularly among the Persians, Seleucids, Jews, Carthaginians, and Romans from about the 6th century BC to the 4th century AD. Constantine the Great, the first Christian emperor, abolished it in the Roman Empire in AD 337, out of veneration for Jesus Christ, the most famous victim of crucifixion. There were various methods of performing the execution. Usually, the condemned man, after being whipped, or "scourged," dragged the crossbeam of his cross to the place of punishment, where the upright shaft was already fixed in the ground. Stripped of his clothing either then or earlier at his scourging, he was bound fast with outstretched arms to the crossbeam or nailed firmly to it through the wrists. The crossbeam was then raised high against the upright shaft and made fast to it about 9 to 12 feet (approximately 3 metres) from the ground. Next, the feet were tightly bound or nailed to the upright shaft. A ledge inserted about halfway up the upright shaft gave some support to the body; evidence for a similar ledge for the feet is rare and late. Over the criminal's head was placed a notice stating his name and his crime. Death, apparently caused by exhaustion or by heart failure, could be hastened by shattering the legs (crurifragium) with an iron club, so that shock and asphyxiation soon ended his life. in the distant background.
CITE THIS RECORD — BIBTEX
@online{wga-rf81d0ffd12db38,
author = {Krén, Emil and Marx, Daniel},
title = {Christ Carrying the Cross by BLES, Herri met de},
organization = {{Web Gallery of Art}},
date = {2026-09-09},
url = {https://beta.wga.hu/artists/bles-herri-met-de-rae68ea454bc2be/christ-carrying-the-cross-rf81d0ffd12db38},
urldate = {2026-09-09},
langid = {english}
}ACCESSED 2026-09-09. REPLACE THE AUTHOR FIELD WITH THE COMMENTARY AUTHOR WHERE ONE IS NAMED.
