On the Way to Calvary

Here, Christ carries the cross on which he will be crucified through a menacing crowd. He looks back toward his followers while the men directly behind him urge him on with violent gestures. The artist has created a feeling of compressed tension by placing all of the figures in the cramped lower half while the top half is a rhythmic pattern of spears, ladder, and flag. A gap in the procession isolates the sorrowful Christ and asks the viewer to contemplate the impending sacrifice.