Road to Calvary

Christ had to carry his cross to the hill of Golgotha, where the crucifixion took place. He was followed by two condemned thieves and a crowd of women.

This scene is found in the left background of the centre panel, behind the crucifixion. The emphasis is on Christ's suffering under the weight of the cross. Although it was accurate that the Romans made condemned men carry their own cross, they only took the horizontal piece to the execution site, where the upright post was already fixed in the ground - a fact perhaps not known by the artist here.

In this section

• The next scene is 'The Crucifixion'
• Back to the Story of the Passion

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