Christ turns to look at us as he carries the Cross on which he will be crucified. This type of painting, in which the viewer is put in the position of the holy women on whom Christ looked on the route to Calvary, was especially popular in North Italy in the sixteenth century. For another example in the National Gallery’s collection, see Christ carrying the Cross by Altobello Melone.
Christ’s eyes appeal to us in his pain and suffering to stir our emotions and arouse our compassion. The tight focus on Christ increases the drama and emotion of the moment. The dark background adds to this effect – there is nothing to distract the viewer’s gaze or devotion. This type of pose, looking back at the viewer over the shoulder, was popular in contemporary portraiture, and can be seen in Andrea del Sarto’s Portrait of a Young Man. It is used to suggest a momentary connection between the sitter and viewer and to create a strong sense of psychological intimacy. The pose is used here to humanise Christ and to create a sense of deep personal connection with him.
Giampietrino painted small-scale, half-length pictures of biblical scenes, frequently in multiple versions, and Christ carrying the Cross is a typical example. The composition reflects the work of Leonardo, who was particularly interested in the study and depiction of emotion through facial expression. Christ carrying the Cross is based on a silver-point study of the same subject by Leonardo, which is now in the Accademia, Venice. The silver-point study and other preparatory drawings may have been for a lost painting by Leonardo, or perhaps for a painting by one of his assistants. Giampietrino’s picture is one of many based on this drawing by a range of artists working in Lombardy at the time. Many Milanese painters, including Boltraffio, Bramantino and Luini, adopted Leonardo’s style, incorporating his motifs and emulating his smoky painterly effects. The composition of Giampietrino’s Salome is also derived from a picture by Leonardo.
The National Gallery’s panel is one of several more or less identical versions of the same picture by Giampietrino, suggesting that he kept reusing the same cartoon. Charcoal would have been rubbed through holes in the pricked cartoon to trace the outlines on the panel ready for painting. Infrared reflectography clearly shows the traces of the cartoon transfer onto the panel.
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