A PIECE OF A CALVARY

ICONOGRAPHY 

Several of the subjects complementary to the Crucifixion of Jesus that normally appear in the complex compositions centred around altarpieces of the Passion are depicted here.

Undoubtedly, the most outstanding of them is the scenario of the Swooning of the Virgin in which one of the Holy Women, St. John and Mary herself appear. The Virgin, when confronted with the suffering of her only son, swoons and requires the assistance of a young disciple to stop her falling to the ground in a complete faint. This much-loved theme in Flemish art is as important as the scene that has the Virgin as the protagonist in the scene depicting Christ Himself.

Located to the right of the composition with her back towards the scene, Mary Magdalene devotedly joins her hands together in prayer as she witnesses the martyrdom of her Master.  

The figure of Longinus, the soldier who pierced the side of Christ with a lance, completes the relief accompanied by his young squire at the moment when, as legend has it, he cured his blindness  by rubbing his eyes with the blood of Christ.