Christ on the Way to Calvary

Jacob Jordaens, 1593 - 1678. Christ Carrying the Cross, c. 1655/1660 Jordaens, himself a Protestant, was commissioned to paint this altarpiece by the Jesuits in Amsterdam. It was intended for the high altar of one of the city's hidden Catholic churches: St Francis Xavier's, better known as De Krijtberg on the Singel. Jordaens probably found inspiration for this painting in one of the oil sketches Rubens drew between 1634 and 1637 for an altar-piece for Affligem Abbey. Characteristic of Jordaens is the way the figures are piled up high and the lack of depth. The procession files past from left to right towards the figures of the Virgin Mary and Veronica. Sold by the Church in 1969. On loan since 1986. Purchased in 1997, with the support of the Rijksmuseum Foundation.