Christ on the Way to Calvary

Packed with people, soldiers and commoners, the scene shows the moment when Jesus, crushed by the weight of the cross, is consoled by Veronica, who is said by tradition to have dried his face with a cloth. On the right, the Virgin Mother faints into the arms of the pious women, with John the apostle, portrayed young and wrapped in a white mantle, next to her. In the background we see a townscape and a hill on which, rather curiously, there is a gathering of people in oriental attire. Rays of golden light can be seen around Jesus’ face, in the half-light, and these are taken up also around the head of the apostle John.