The Carrying of the Cross
Simone Martini chose to depict the scene where Christ is led by soldiers out of the city of Jerusalem to be crucified on Mount Calvary. Christ is surrounded by a large crowd accompanying him toward the hill: soldiers with their rhythmically alternating spears, Jews, and, to the left, the Virgin, violently pushed aside by a soldier and held by St. John. In the middle of the group of holy women, Mary Magdalene raises her arms heavenward in a pained gesture suffused with pathos. The procession describes a curve as it exits the city walls; certain figures already look ahead to the following scene, the Crucifixion.
The composition of The Carrying of the Cross is extremely dense and energetic; the bustling crowd seems to hem Jesus in on all sides. The dramatic effect is heightened by the use of inverted perspective and figures that are disproportionately large with respect to the architecture. The artist's sense of narrative is shown through realistic details and the strong characterization of certain figures: the vulgar faces of the executioners, the hook-nosed profile of the hooded old woman in blue, and the more reserved but no less intense expression of the Virgin, driven back in her rush towards her son, whose face is turned toward her.
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