Art Institute of Chicago

Christ Carrying the Cross

Master of the Worcester Carrying of the Cross (active c. 1400–c. 1450)LinkedCulture matchlcp-f35f487fc382

Date: c. 1425
Medium: Oil on panel
Culture: Germany
Department: Painting and Sculpture of Europe
Institution: Art Institute of Chicago
Object ID: 59897

From the Art Institute of Chicago record

Brutal tormentors surround the suffering figure of Jesus as he carries his cross to Calvary, the site of his crucifixion. In the upper-left corner, his mother, Mary, and her companion are also reviled by the crowd. Like many German Late Gothic images of Christ’s Passion, this painting reflects the prophetic words of Psalm 22, which describe how Jesus will be persecuted with ridiculing facial expressions, offensive gestures, and physical torture. The panel was probably intended as a focal point for individual meditation, perhaps as part of a small, portable altarpiece. It is the only surviving panel painting by an artist whose expressive style was highly influential in Southern Germany in the early 15th century.

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Provenance & credit

As published by the source institution. Coverage varies — not every institution's open-data feed includes ownership history.

Credit line: Charles H. and Mary F. S. Worcester collection
Provenance: Julius Böhler, Munich, by July 1928 [letter from Böhler dated July 22, 1928 in Art Institute archives]; sold to Charles H. Worcester, Chicago, July 1928; given by Mr. and Mrs. Charles Worcester, 1947.