Bernardo Cavallino (Italian, 1616-1656)
Procession to Calvary, ca. 1645
Oil on canvas, 40 x 52 inches
Gift of Walter P. Chrysler, Jr.

During a century best known for art on a grand scale, Cavallino often painted smaller, more intimate versions of biblical subjects. In his anguished vision of Christ's journey to his crucifixion, confusion breaks out among his ragged tormentors and sorrowing followers: Christ has stumbled under the unbearable weight of the cross.

Despite faded pigments and surface abrasion to the canvas, Cavallino's chromatic mastery can still be admired. Delicate tones of rose and gold suffuse the veiled air where the grisly procession skirts the cliff. Pure colors are carefully placed to bring visual order to the chaotic scene; figures in blue and vermilion frame Christ's silvery white form. As expressive hands and faces turn toward the central drama, three figures look directly at us, catching our eye and drawing us in: the fiery horse at the left, a ghostly soldier in the misty distance at the right, and at the center near the tilted cross, Cavallino himself, elegant and erect. This Neapolitan artist's refined treatment of a crowd scene bears comparison with Castiglione's clamorous Moses Striking the Rock.

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