The Cleveland Museum of Art

Collection Online as of August 9, 2026

An alabaster relief sculpture with traces of pigment depicts Christ carrying a large black cross toward the right. Surrounded by ten figures, Christ hunches forward while gripping the wood with both hands. To the left, veiled women watch. To the right, bearded men in tunics flank him, one holding a coiled rope. Red and gold pigments accent the pale stone and rocky ground. The rectangular panel shows wear along its edges.

Christ Carrying the Cross (Panel from an Altarpiece)

1400s

England, Nottingham, 15th century

painted and gilded alabaster
Overall: 47 x 28.3 cm (18 1/2 x 11 1/8 in.)
Andrew R. and Martha Holden Jennings Fund 1969.296
Location: 110B Late Gothic

Description

This panel, most likely one of five narrative scenes representing the Passion of Christ, comes from a now dismembered altarpiece. The central panel was undoubtedly a scene of the Crucifixion. Such carvings in alabaster were frequently painted in vibrant colors with added gilding. The flesh areas of the figures were often left unpainted, with the exception of villains and executioners whose faces were "blackened," as in this example, a convention that may derive from the medieval stage. English alabaster sculptures were in high demand throughout Europe during the 1300s and 1400s, and exported to Portugal, Spain, Scandinavia, Iceland, and other countries. A soft stone suitable only for interior sculpture, English alabaster was highly prized for its creamy translucency. Of the English quarries, those near Nottingham in the Midlands were the most active.
  • (Blumka Gallery, New York).
  • “Annual Report for 1969.” The Bulletin of the Cleveland Museum of Art 57, no. 6 (June 1970): 163–193. Mentioned and reproduced: p. 168 www.jstor.org
    Gertsman, Elina and Barbara H. Rosenwein. The Middle Ages in 50 Objects. Cambridge: Cambridge University Press, 2018. Mentioned: p. 46-49; Reproduced: p. 47
  • Year in Review: 1969. The Cleveland Museum of Art, Cleveland, OH (organizer) (January 27-February 22, 1970).
  • {{cite web|title=Christ Carrying the Cross (Panel from an Altarpiece)|url=false|author=|year=1400s|access-date=09 August 2026|publisher=Cleveland Museum of Art}}

Source URL:

https://www.clevelandart.org/art/1969.296