Christ Charged with his Cross; Road to Calvary (unfinished) 1670

Curator: Melchior Küsel's "Christ Charged with his Cross; Road to Calvary" is an unfinished piece, held at the Harvard Art Museums. Editor: It has this haunted quality, doesn't it? The high contrast and implied motion gives it a sense of timeless suffering and injustice. Curator: Absolutely. The iconography here is complex; the column on the left, for example, can be seen as representing Roman authority, but also perhaps the strength and steadfastness of faith in the face of oppression. Editor: And the way the crowd is rendered, almost like a sea of faces, all pointing toward Christ bearing his cross, really speaks to the dynamics of power and collective violence. It evokes historical and present day political executions. Curator: I find the unfinished nature particularly poignant. It reminds us that the themes of suffering and injustice are ongoing and never truly resolved. Editor: Yes, it's a powerful reminder that these narratives continue to resonate. The starkness forces us to confront uncomfortable truths.