Germany / 1475–90
Christ Carrying the Cross
The Cleveland Museum of Art catalogs Christ Carrying the Cross as print (Germany · 1475–90).
The large size and composition of this engraving likely emulated a painting of the same subject by the artist Jan Van Eyck, now lost and known only though copies.
A CLOSER LOOK
The museum identifies this print as engraving and credits Martin Schongauer (German, c. 1450–1491).
The museum's collection notes: This complex engraving depicts Christ's walk to Golgotha, the site of his Crucifixion. A crowd, depicted as violent and uncaring, moves across a rocky landscape. At the center of the procession, Christ has fallen under the weight of his huge cross. Martin Schongauer made Christ's gaze the only one directly confronting and involving the viewer in his anguish. Images like this functioned as devotional tools meant to help the faithful to meditate on Christ's suffering during his trial, torture, and execution.
FOLLOW THE EVIDENCE
The Cleveland Museum of ArtChrist Carrying the CrossOriginal explanation based on the sources above. Images carry their own reuse terms.