Jesus carrying the Cross. Sebastiano del Piombo

This painting depicts the moment when Jesus Christ carries the cross in the palace of Pontius Pilate

Simon of Cyrene is behind Jesus, helping him with the cross.

A Roman soldier is also present, overseeing the situation.

In the background to the right, we can see a group of people passing under a Roman triumphal arch.

All these people are heading from Jerusalem to Mount Golgotha.

The usual depiction of Jesus on the road to Golgotha shows him carrying the cross to be crucified.

In this painting, this particular scene is depicted in an usual way.

Instead of showing Jesus on the road, it depicts him inside the palace of Pontius Pilate.

The image is divided into 2 halves: the open landscape in the background and the closed palace on the left.

The 3 figures are very close together, creating a feeling of desperation.

This arrangement of figures is typical of Mannerism, an artistic style that appeared during the late Renaissance and extended into the 16 century.

Sebastiano del Piombo, born in Venice, uses a varied colour palette typical of Venetian painters.

This colourful approach is evident in the light of the sky, where he blends blue and orange colours.

Piombo means lead in Italian.

Sebastian got this nickname because he was the keeper of the lead seals of the pope.

He studied painting with the Venetian painter Giovanni Bellini.

In Rome, he was a rival of Raphael and a friend of the Italian artist Michelangelo, who influenced his painting style.

This influence is evident in this painting because the body of Jesus Christ has monumental forms

Sebastiano del Piombo was successful as a portrait artist and repeated the subject of Jesus Christ with the cross several times.

The ambassador in Rome for the kings Ferdinand the Catholic and Charles the Fifth commissioned this painting and other works from Sebastiano del Piombo