Road to Calvary,

1617

This painting presents Christ’s excruciating path to Calvary, where he will be crucified before the onlookers who now witness his struggle to bear the instrument of his death. The nearby Road to Calvary by Herri met de Bles (about 1535) represents an early iteration of the same subject. When Catholic leaders at the Council of Trent, held between 1545 and 1563, called for clearer, doctrinally consistent devotional painting, Flemish artists changed their approach to this narrative. Francken’s version of the subject brings the action to the foreground, allowing the viewer to contemplate the meaning of the events at hand. The work emphasizes the new priorities of Counter-Reformation painting by diminishing the importance of the natural world in favor of details considered more essential to the audience’s salvation. In the foreground a man relieves a condemned thief with a draft from his vessel, and Saint Veronica offers to wipe the sweat from Christ’s brow, each emphasizing the importance of good works.