The painting "Carrying the Cross": photo and description

2024 Author: Leah Sherlock | [email protected]. Last modified: 2023-12-17 05:25

The hereditary artist Hieronymus Bosch is considered one of the most mysterious and mystical artists of the Netherlands. Living in the 15th century, he did not leave many paintings to the world. The painting "Carrying the Cross", written in the period 1490-1500, is a reproduction of the biblical story "The Way of the Cross of Jesus Christ." Work evokes strong emotions. Bosch painted three paintings of the same name, each of which has a lot to tell us.

15th-16th century Dutch art

In the history of art of the 15th-16th centuries. in Holland they call it the Northern Renaissance. This period can be dated to the European Renaissance, but with a northern accent. In art, the Gothic style still ruled, only with strong religious overtones. Bosch's work affects the later period of the Renaissance, but also follows its main canons.

Picture "Carryingcross" Hieronymus Bosch wrote according to all the rules of the Gothic style of that era, invested in its creation the horror of the cruelty of his time and the gloom of the surrounding reality.

Hieronymus Bosch

Jeroen van Aken was born around the 1450s in the Duchy of Brabant in the Netherlands. His father and grandfather were both artists, so it's no wonder Bosch decides to continue the family craft.

After his father's death in 1478, Jerome inherited his art workshop. However, he receives recognition as an artist only after a successful marriage to a girl from a we althy merchant family.

In 1486 the artist joins a religious brotherhood dedicated to the Virgin Mary. This is reflected to a large extent in all his works. One of these works will be the famous works of Hieronymus Bosch - "Carrying the Cross".

Bosch died on August 9, 1516 in his hometown of 's-Hertogenbosch.

Bible story

In the New Testament, the story of Jesus Christ is described in sufficient detail. "The Way of the Cross" is one of the episodes of the fourteen biblical stands. After Jesus was sentenced to death, he took the cross on which he was to be crucified and carried him to the place of execution. Further, the difficult path of Christ is described, where, under the weight of the cross, he cannot stand it and falls several times. On the way, he meets his mother and compassionate people who help him carry his cross. Saint Veronica wipes the face of Christ, which will also be displayed in Bosch's painting. After the third fall, he is stripped of his clothes. Cruel guards beat andhumiliate Jesus. This cruelty will be captured in the ugly faces in the artist's painting. After Jesus Christ is nailed to the cross, he dies in terrible agony. Then his body will be placed in a coffin and buried.

Description of the picture

Bosch painted three "Carrying the Cross" paintings, but they are all dedicated to one episode of the biblical story. The path of Christ to Golgotha was difficult not only physically, but above all emotionally. The people around him were divided into two camps - those who gloated and those who sincerely sympathized with their teacher.

The description of the painting "Carrying the Cross" should begin with the image of these people, whose images, completely disgusting, are mixed with unthinkably beautiful and sad. The faces of the characters in the picture are more caricature than realistic, they seem to have risen from hell and in their mocking expressions resemble more devils than people.

In all the pictures in the center is Jesus Christ. He stooped under the weight of the cross, and it is also hard for him under the weight of the anger directed at him from the people around him.

More details about the "Carrying the Cross" paintings and description below.

Mannerist style

It is worth briefly talking about the style in which all three paintings were written. Mannerism is translated as "mannered". A distinctive feature is the distorted people and faces. This style is characterized by unrealistic figures, mannered images and religious motifs. Episodes of paintings overloaded with details, lack of clearforms, crumpled style and storyline. But at the same time, the brightness of the images, immersion in the details and pretentiousness of the depicted objects.

Bosch painted "Carrying the Cross" in this style and was the first of its kind to use this artistic solution for such a subtle biblical interpretation.

A painting in Madrid

One of the three "Carrying the Cross" paintings is in the Royal Palace in Spain. In the center of the picture is the seemingly serene image of Christ. The gaze is directed at us, expresses its detachment from what is happening. The body of Jesus falls under the weight of the cross, but there is no expression of anguish on his face. A crown of thorns surrounds his head, but doesn't seem to be torturous either.

An elderly man in white clothes is Simon of Cyrene, the very famous biblical character who helped Jesus carry his cross part of the way to Golgotha. It is he, an influential and we althy disciple of Christ, who will persuade Pontius Pilate to let him bury the teacher humanly in a coffin.

Many people surrounding Christ on the left side of the picture are his enemies and guards leading him to execution. Their faces express gloating and contempt. At the same time, the artist depicts them as ugly and scary. Embittered souls seem to be imprinted on their faces.

In the background you can see the mother of Jesus Christ - Mary, who cries in the arms of the Apostle John. The artist depicted this suffering of the mother in the upper right corner of the picture, two people cannot be overlooked in the general plan of the ongoing chaos.

A painting in Vienna

Another one ofthree paintings by Bosch is located in the capital of Austria, in the Museum of Art History. Presumably, this particular work was only the left wing of a triptych that has not survived. There is also an opinion that the picture was significantly reduced from above. Today, we can only speculate about the full version of the artwork, but many experts believe that there must be a sequel on the right. It is either "descent from the cross" or "mourning".

Jesus Christ is also in the center of this picture. However, it differs from the previous version. Here Jesus is not looking at us, he is focused on his burden. The artist exacerbates the suffering of Christ by depicting thorn blocks on his feet, which were used as a means of torture in the 15th century. Despite the fact that there is no blood in the picture, the horror of this harrowing invention causes great compassion.

Simon of Cyrene is depicted in the picture no longer in white clothes, and he clearly does not help the teacher carry the cross, but only touches him. Incomprehension can be seen in his expression, a silent question frozen in his eyes.

A huge number of angry people also gloat and mock the plight of the convict. Their images are completely different, young and old, rich and poor, all united by the joy of execution, but not compassion. In these expressions and the heterogeneity of the audience, the whole pain of this work.

It is worth mentioning the executioner who leads Christ to execution by the rope. In his hands is a shield, in the center of which is a toad. Precisely the toadis a symbol of the satanic society.

The picture is devoid of the correct proportions, combining two main storylines. Christ was crucified as a robber, along with two other bandits convicted of robbery. Crucifixion is a terrible execution that was applied to the lowest and most dangerous criminals. In the biblical story, one of the criminals will repent and ask God for salvation. Jesus will promise him paradise with him after death. It was these two robbers that were captured by the painter at the bottom of the picture. One of them, on the right, repented of his atrocities and asks God to forgive him his sins. The other, on the left, on the contrary, longs for revenge, he does not repent, but only angers fate.

A painting in Ghent

One of Bosch's "Carrying the Cross" paintings is located in Belgium, in the city of Ghent, in the Museum of Fine Arts. The most aggressive of the artist's three paintings. Nowhere does he depict the heroes of his works with such ugliness.

In the center is the unfortunate face of Jesus Christ, expressing unbearable spiritual anguish. Another notable character is Saint Veronica. It was she who gave Jesus a clean handkerchief to wipe the sweat and blood from his face. The face of God will later appear on this scarf, in the indicated picture it is already in the form of a full-fledged image.

All other participants in the picture are striking in their ugliness. As in previous versions, they express all human filth, but it is in this picture that their inner ugliness is so clearly displayed on their monstrous facial expressions.