The Procession to Calvary

from the sources

• The Procession to Calvary is an oil-on-panel painting by Bruegel, dated 1564, showing Christ carrying the Cross in a large landscape. en.wikipedia.org

  “The Procession to Calvary is an oil-on-panel by the Netherlandish Renaissance artist Pieter Bruegel the Elder of Christ carrying the Cross set in a large landscape, painted in 1564.”

• The painting is held by the Kunsthistorisches Museum in Vienna. en.wikipedia.org

  “It is in the Kunsthistorisches Museum in Vienna.”

• It is the second-largest known painting by Bruegel. en.wikipedia.org

  “This is the second-largest known painting by Bruegel.”

• The painting was recorded in the Prague collections of Rudolf II in 1604 and later moved to Vienna. en.wikipedia.org

  “In 1604 it was recorded in the Prague collections of Rudolf II, Holy Roman Emperor, then transferred to Vienna, and in 1809 (until 1815) in Paris, requisitioned by Napoleon Bonaparte as part of his war booty.”

• Bruegel used a well-known compositional scheme, previously used by the Brunswick Monogrammist and Pieter Aertsen, perhaps because of the solemn subject. en.wikipedia.org

  “Perhaps because he was treating such a solemn religious event, he adopted a well-known scheme, used previously by the Brunswick Monogrammist and Bruegel's Antwerp contemporary, Pieter Aertsen.”

• Apart from Christ, the figures in the procession are shown in contemporary dress, suggesting the scene was meant to refer to Bruegel's own time. en.wikipedia.org

  “With the exception of Christ himself, the figures in the procession wear contemporary dress, and there can be no doubts that Bruegel meant his representation of the scene to have a particular reference to his own day.”

• The two thieves are shown in a cart being taken to execution, clutching crucifixes and confessing to priests, which is anachronistic. en.wikipedia.org

  “Anachronistically, both clutch crucifixes and are making their final confessions to the cowled priests beside them.”

• The Virgin and her companions are placed on a small rocky plateau, separated from the main events of the procession. en.wikipedia.org

  “The sacred figures – the fainting Virgin assisted by Saint John and the other two Marys (only one of whom is shown here in the detail) – are separated from the main events by being placed on a small, rocky plateau.”