Castilian School; XVI century. Lot n° 47

Castilian School; XVI century. "Christ on the way to Calvary". Oil on panel. It presents important jumps in the painting. Measurements: 123 x 79 cm. It is represented here one of the moments that Jesus lived during the way to Mount Calvary, the character that accompanies him, surely is Simon the Cyrenian, who helped him to carry the cross again, when Jesus fell. Exhausted by the blood lost in the scourging, weakened by the physical and moral sufferings that had been inflicted on him the night before, and without having slept, Jesus could hardly take a few steps and soon fell under the weight of the cross. Then followed the blows and imprecations of the soldiers, the expectant laughter of the public. The Messiah, with all the strength of his will and with all his strength, managed to get up to continue on his way. According to theological interpretations, Jesus invites us with his actions to carry our cross and to follow him, he teaches us here that we can also fall, and that we have to understand those who fall; that no one should remain prostrate, we all have to get up with humility and confidence seeking his help and forgiveness. Spain is, at the beginning of the 16th century, the European nation best prepared to receive the new humanist concepts of life and art due to its spiritual, political and economic conditions, although from the point of view of the plastic forms, its adaptation of those implanted by Italy was slower due to the need to learn the new techniques and to change the taste of the clientele. Soon the anatomy, the movement of the figures, the compositions with a sense of perspective and balance, the naturalistic play of the folds, the classical attitudes of the figures began to be valued; but the strong Gothic tradition maintains the expressiveness as a vehicle of the deep spiritualistic sense that informs our best Renaissance sculptures. In this particular case, due to the technical characteristics, the author defines himself as a follower of Antonio Vazquez. Antonio Vazquez was a Renaissance painter active in Valladolid, with a vast production and a large clientele. Documentation of some of his works has been preserved (a dispute with Alonso Berruguete, a letter signed with the same master addressed to Emperor Charles V, etc.). In addition to altarpieces, it is known that he worked for the City Hall of Valladolid and under the orders of Gaspar de Tordesillas on the arches commemorating the entrance of the betrothed of the future Philip II and on the burial mound made for the same princess, Maria Manuela of Portugal.