“Christ Falling on the Way to Calvary” by Raphael

“Christ Falling on the Way to Calvary” by Raphael shows Christ carrying the cross to his crucifixion at the moment when he fell. The foreground of the painting is densely packed with emotional responses, especially his mother’s agony.

Simon of Cyrene, who is centered above Christ, is lifting Christ’s cross momentarily. The four Marys are depicted on the bottom right side of the painting. Towering on either side of the composition is the Roman guards.

This picture was created during the Italian High Renaissance and part of Madrid’s Museo del Prado collection. This masterpiece is an essential work for the development of Raphael’s style and reputation.

Christ Carrying the Cross

The story of Christ Carrying the Cross on his way to his crucifixion is in all four Gospels. The story became a common subject in art, especially in the Catholic tradition of the “Stations of the Cross.”

The “Stations of the Cross” are a series of images depicting Jesus Christ on the day of his crucifixion, which can be found in most Catholic churches.

The Gospel of John states explicitly Jesus carried his cross, and all but John include Simon of Cyrene, who was recruited by the soldiers from the crowd to help carry the cross.

Only the Gospel of Luke mentions the “women of Jerusalem,” who were in later writings and Christian art assumed to include the Virgin Mary and the Three Marys. The Gospels give the name Mary to several women.

At various points in Christian history, some of these women have been conflated with one another.

The Swoon of the Virgin

The Swoon of the Virgin was an idea developed in the late Middle Ages, in which the Virgin Mary fainted while she watched the process of the Crucifixion of Jesus. The swoon is usually depicted during in scenes of Christ Carrying the Cross.

Also, during the Crucifixion of Jesus. The concept of the “spasm” of the Virgin was fashionable but also controversial in early-16th-century Catholicism. Raphael shows the Virgin has only fallen to her knees in this work, not collapsed or fainted, as is often shown.

Raphael

Raffaello Sanzio da Urbino (1483 – 1520), known as Raphael, was an Italian painter and architect of the High Renaissance. Together with Michelangelo and Leonardo da Vinci, Raphael forms the three great masters of the High Renaissance.

Raphael died young at the age of 37. He left a large body of work, most of which can be found in the Vatican Palace, where the Raphael Rooms were the most extensive works of his career. Raphael’s career falls into three phases.

His early years in Umbria, his four years in Florence, followed by his twelve years in Rome, working for two Popes and the Church. His best-known work is “The School of Athens” in the Vatican.

Christ Falling on the Way to Calvary

Title: Christ Falling on the Way to Calvary
Italian: Lo Spasimo di Sicilia
Artist: Raphael
Year: 1517
Medium: Oil on panel transferred to canvas
Museum: Prado Museum, Museo del Prado

Raphael

Name: Raffaello Sanzio da Urbino
Born: 1483 – Urbino, Marche, Italy
Died: 1520 (aged 37) – Rome, Italy
Movement: High Renaissance
Masterpieces:
- Madonna in the Meadow
- The Alba Madonna
- The School of Athens
- Small Cowper Madonna
- The Madonna of the Pinks
- Christ Falling on the Way to Calvary
- The Marriage of the Virgin
- Portrait of Baldassare Castiglione