Offered by Antichità Castelbarco
Michael Coxie (Mechelen, 1499 – Mechelen, 1592) Workshop of
Christ Carrying the Cross
Oil on panel 85 x 57 cm. – framed 112 x 85 cm.
The painting on offer, by an artist from the workshop of the famous Flemish master Michael Coxie (Mechelen, 1499 – Mechelen, 1592), reinterprets one of the great master’s famous compositions.
Coxie brilliantly tackled this classic subject of religious painting on numerous occasions, rendering its dramatic style through a skillful interplay of light and shadow.
Specifically, it is a remarkable interpretation of Christ Carrying the Cross, immortalized in a moment of profound and dramatic suffering as he embraces and supports the heavy wooden cross on his journey to Mount Calvary; after enduring the mockery and torture of his tormentors, he is burdened with the weight of the cross and sets out on the ascent to Calvary, where he will meet his death.
Although this is an iconographic motif that traditionally depicts a dramatic moment of the Passion—one that focuses attention on Christ’s sufferings—we see him here portrayed without the slightest sign of the torture he endured, except for the crown of thorns on his head.
His body appears strong and healthy; he does not buckle under the weight of the cross, and his face bears a pensive and resigned expression.
The painting draws, albeit with modifications, on the model of Christ Carrying the Cross created around 1555 by Coxie and now housed at the Museo de Bellas Artes in Valencia (fig. 1)
The work is strongly influenced by Italian classicism —Coxie, in fact, spent many years in Rome, earning the nickname the “Flemish Raphael”—combining Nordic precision in drapery and skin tones with a profound, monumental expressiveness.
There are several versions and contemporary copies of this powerful composition attributed to the artist and his workshop, some depicting only Christ with the cross, others with additional figures, held in major international collections and museums.
Delevery information :
We take care of and organise the transport of the purchased works, both for Italy and abroad, through professional and insured carriers.
We take great care We personally take care of the packaging, to which we devote a great deal of care: each work is carefully packed, first with arti- cle material, then with a custom-made wooden box.
Should you have the desire to see this or other works in person, we would be happy to welcome you to our gallery in Riva del Garda, Viale Giuseppe Canella 18, we are always open by appointment only.
