Christ Carrying the Cross

This Christ Carrying the Cross has strong stylistic affinities with a painting in the Galleria Doria Pamphilj, Rome, formerly attributed to Giulio Romano, Girolamo Muziano and Luis de Morales, but now thought to be by Leonardo Grazia da Pistoia. Both are ultimately dependent on the celebrated Christ Bearing the Cross, painted on slate by Sebastiano del Piombo for Don Fernando Silva, Count of Cifuentes (c. 1537; Saint Petersburg, Hermitage). The immediate success of Sebastiano’s composition is testified to by the number of 16th century copies and versions, both in Italy, where it was painted, and in Spain, for where the picture was destined.