THE WAY TO THE CALVARY ALTARPIECE

STYLE 

The somewhat closely-knit composition is made up of twenty one figures distributed over four different levels. The nearest figures to us are located on the lower level while the more distant ones from us stand on the upper level. They have been positioned in such a way that almost all the figures are visible, with the sole exception of one of the thieves who is partially hidden by a companion.

The short figures display a wide variety of headdresses and armours - some of which are more apparent than real - because, since they were cast in moulds, the figures could be used again and again in different reliefs. In fact, it is not unusual to find the same figures in different works. Their wide faces have been given an expressiveness that transmits different emotions such as the acute suffering of Christ, shared in a more restrained manner by Mary, St. John and the three Holy Women, the cruelty on the face of the executioner located behind the Cross which could almost be described as grotesque and the contemptuous grimace of the person leading the procession.