Rafael – Caída en el camino del Calvario, o El Pasmo de Sicilia Part 1 Prado museum

A description of Raphael Santi’s painting The Carrying of the Cross

"The Carrying of the Cross" is one of Raphael’s most tragic works. It conveys not only the moment in the life of Christ described in religious sources, but also the human emotions that the author so diligently conveyed. The sense of grief, helplessness, anxiety and compassion can be read in the eyes of the Devas on the right side of the canvas.

In the center of the painting, Jesus Christ is shown wearing a crown of thorns, shedding tears and experiencing incredible agony. He has fallen to the ground under the weight of the cross in exhaustion, after which he informs the Holy Virgin that the fall of Jerusalem is imminent. Christ then looks back at his mother, who is helplessly pointing her hands in the direction of her beloved Son, grieving for his fate. The Virgin Mary, in spite of her tremendous suffering, tries to hold on with courage, yet she does not hide her grief. This moment should be an example for every Christian, who should experience the anguish of his Savior as much as the Holy Virgin Mary.

This painting is painted in a style unaccustomed to Raphael. First of all, the heroes of the painting occupy solemn, almost theatrical poses, and the main events fit not only into the format of the canvas, but also go beyond it. The color palette of the work is quite saturated, dominated by dark shades in a duet with red. This technique helps the artist to convey the tragedy of the events taking place, to emphasize the intensity and suffering of the Virgins empathizing with Christ. At the same time, the tormentors of Jesus Christ are depicted even more expressively, emphasizing their rudeness and perfidy. The extreme states of the human soul, such as grief, helplessness, empathy, and the burden placed on the shoulders of the innocent, are all conveyed by Raphael in one of his most popular paintings.