Christ Carrying the Cross, called "The Lord of the Fall"

Christ Carrying the Cross, called "The Lord of the Fall"

Unknown

An item at Metropolitan Museum of Art

This work belongs to the genre of "statue painting," that is, painted simulacra of sacred images. As a "true likeness" of a cult image, it was believed to possess the miraculous powers of the original, a sculpture of Christ the Nazarene venerated in the Cuzco church of San Francisco. The effectiveness of this type of painting depended on its veracity, a demand that led to the depiction not only of sculptures, but the altars and shrines where they were venerated. The sacred image of the Nazarene is displayed beneath a baldachin at the top of a stepped altar that is profusely decorated with additional sculptures, silver ornaments, and ephemera like candles, flowers, and feathers.

The American Wing

An exhibit at Metropolitan Museum of Art

Christ Carrying the Cross, called "The Lord of the Fall"Christ Carrying the Cross, called "The Lord of the Fall"Christ Carrying the Cross, called "The Lord of the Fall"Christ Carrying the Cross, called "The Lord of the Fall"Christ Carrying the Cross, called "The Lord of the Fall"

The American Wing's ever-evolving collection comprises some 20,000 works of art by African American, Euro American, Latin American, and Native American men and women. Ranging from the colonial to early-modern periods, the holdings include painting, sculpture, works on paper, and decorative arts—including furniture, textiles, ceramics, glass, silver, metalwork, jewelry, basketry, quill and bead embroidery—as well as historical interiors and architectural fragments.