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Lent 33

We have done exactly as I said we would – we have looked up, beyond the cross even, to the inscription attached to the top. If I think back over all of the years talking about art, the question I have been asked most often is, in all probability, ‘What does that say?’. Which surprisesContinue reading “Lent 33”

Lent 32

By now, we know which side we stand, but at the foot of the cross it is not so simple. Proximity is always a good thing, but it doesn’t mean that you are good, just because you are there. Three people take their places, looking up towards Jesus. Their attitudes are completely different, but abundantlyContinue reading “Lent 32”

Lent 31

I can’t believe it’s a year since I started this blog – more on that below, but if you want to celebrate this anniversary by reading, or re-reading (if you’ve been with me all that time) the first entry, it was Day 1 – The Rape of Europa. But for now, I want to concentrateContinue reading “Lent 31”

Lent 30

We have seen the two thieves about to leave Jerusalem in Lent 19, and then leading the procession along the Via Crucis in Lent 21. Now we have caught up with them again – or at least, with one of them. The Gospel of Mark (15:27-28) explains why the thieves are there – or rather,Continue reading “Lent 30”

Lent 29

I try to be optimistic, and I think today’s detail is. To the left, we can just see St John, supporting the Virgin’s arm, a detail we saw in full yesterday. On the right we see the uncouth man in his red top and hot pants, bells on the hem of his blue cape, aboutContinue reading “Lent 29”

Lent 28

O vos omnes qui transitis per viam, attendite et videte si est dolor sicut dolor meus. The words from the Book of Lamentations (1:12) seem particularly apt today. This is a standard translation, adapted from the King James Version: All ye that pass by, behold, and see if there be any sorrow like unto myContinue reading “Lent 28”

Lent 27

At least one of the characters here looks up to our right – so they must be located to the left of the cross, under Jesus’s right hand: they are the good people, among the blessed, and the donor is somewhere in their company. We have seen at least three of them before. The manContinue reading “Lent 27”

Lent 26

More onlookers today, but rather than sitting (or kneeling) outside the action, they play a greater part in the narrative. Some of them are those most responsible for Christ’s fate, others are merely those who make it happen, and most of them have appeared before. In the foreground is a man who I hope isContinue reading “Lent 26”

Lent 25

We were talking about anachronism just a couple of days ago (Lent 23), and if it seemed unlikely that the Via Crucis would skirt around a church, it is even less likely that it would pass someone who looks like a monk, as they came even later. He’s not a monk, as it happens, butContinue reading “Lent 25”

Lent 24

I have often wondered about this group of exiles – I’m never entirely clear where they are supposed to be, or what they are doing there. They form no part of the narrative with which I am familiar, and so, from my point of view, they are open to interpretation. However, their identity is not.Continue reading “Lent 24”