Christ Carrying the Cross
Dublin Core
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Description
Titian’s Christ Carrying the Cross was not a one off subject matter or commission. Several decades prior Titian had created a version of Christ Carrying the Cross depicting Christ tied at the neck by the rope of an executioner [1]. This work was placed in the Scuola di San Rocco, and served as a template for his later version [1]. The mid 17th century rendition of the work, of which this item is the focus, was commissioned by Francesco Zuccato. He was an important Venetian mosaicist and a family-friend of Titian [2]. Zuccato’s father was Titian’s first teacher when he had moved to Venice at a young age [2]. The commission is denoted by Zuccato's physical traits appearing in the rendering of Simon within the painting.
The image retains a fairly concise and concentrated narrative. The oil on canvas is dominated by two central figures, one of which is Christ and the other is Simon the Cyrene. Simon was enlisted to help Christ carry his cross, as he was failing to do so in a timely manner because of physical exhaustion. Simon has his head rested on one of the wooden beams of the cross, his face darkened but looking intently towards Christ’s bleeding face below. Their positions in carrying the cross practically overlap their bodies, establishing a connection between the two. Christ has tears dripping down his face, blood in the whites of his eyes, and a rope tied around his neck (but only partially visible). These elements emotively illustrate the amount of pain and suffering Christ is experiencing as he marches closer to this death. Furthermore, the painting is filled with different (and progressively darker) shades of brown to demonstrate a gloomy mood [3]. Instead of looking forward, Christ appears to be gazing at the viewer of the painting, a mechanism for instilling relatability and transporting the viewer to the scene. The painting is complete by its uncommon use of framing [3]. Only a fragment of the cross is visible, more than half of Christ's body remains outside of the image, and Simon’s head does not fit fully into the frame. These elements function as a device to heighten the perspective of the viewer and draw them into the scene rather than treating them as outliers or observing from a distance.
[1] Tom Nichols, Essay, In Titian and the End of the Venetian Renaissance, (London, NC: Reaktion Books, 2013), 61-62.
[2] “Christ Carrying the Cross,” The Collection - Museo Nacional del Prado, Museo Nacional del Prado, accessed October 21, 2020, https://www.museodelprado.es/en/the-collection/art-work/christ-carrying-the-cross/657fa964-0040-48df-971e-88f0de5c6714.
[3] “Christ Carrying the Cross, 1508 by Titian,” Titian. Titian.org, 2011, https://www.titian.org/christ-carrying-the-cross.jsp.
Creator
Source
“Christ Carrying the Cross.” The Collection - Museo Nacional del Prado. Museo Nacional del Prado. Accessed October 21, 2020. https://www.museodelprado.es/en/the-collection/art-work/christ-carrying-the-cross/657fa964-0040-48df-971e-88f0de5c6714.
“Christ Carrying the Cross, 1508 by Titian.” Titian. Titian.org, 2011. https://www.titian.org/christ-carrying-the-cross.jsp.
Nichols, Tom. Essay. In Titian and the End of the Venetian Renaissance, 61–62. London, NC: Reaktion Books, 2013.
Image Source: “Canvas.” Artstor. ITHAKA. Accessed October 21, 2020. https://library.artstor.org/asset/AWSS35953_35953_31697326.
Publisher
Archive for Research on Archetypal Symbolism
Image Source: “Canvas.” Artstor. ITHAKA. Accessed October 21, 2020. https://library.artstor.org/asset/AWSS35953_35953_31697326.
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Contributor
Rights
Image Source: “Canvas.” Artstor. ITHAKA. Accessed October 21, 2020. https://library.artstor.org/asset/AWSS35953_35953_31697326.
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