Christ Bearing the Cross

Christ Bearing the Cross, is the icon painted by Nikolaos Tzafouris (active 1487–1501), a Greek Renaissance painter.

icon Christ Bearing the Cross by Nikolaos Tzafouris, Metropolitan Museum of Art, New York City

The Greek inscription on this icon describes a Byzantine icon type in which soldiers drag Christ to Golgotha. However, the icon is in Western type. The soldiers on the right are dressed in the Italian armor, while the soldiers on the left of the painting wear Byzantine or Cretan armor.[1]

There are five icons signed by the author that survived. Christ Bearing the Cross is one of them. The icon is in the collection of Metropolitan Museum of Art.