The Way to Calvary

This highly important masterpiece shows not only Bassano himself, but Venetian painting in general at its most Mannerist. During the 1550s, Bassano was highly responsive to the work of Tuscan Mannerists as well as Parmigianino and Pontormo. Characterized by elongated figures, exaggerated emotional intensity, an extremely dynamic sense of movement, and a serried mass of several figures moving rhythmically in a shallow space as in a frieze, the painting is shocking and disturbing, and entirely anti-classical in its spirit.