The date and monogram on this painting allow it to be attributed to Lambert Lombard at a point very early in his career in Liège before he left for Italy.  The treatment of the subject is highly original with some of the figures in grotesque poses surrounding the more static figure of Christ himself. The frieze-like treatment of the figures suggests the possibility that the picture formed part of one of the painted shutters of a complex sculptured altarpiece which would mean that the composition would form part of a very much larger whole.   The treatment of the subject follows the standard Netherlandish practice of adding to the narrative by showing the Calvary in the upper right background. Lower down on the right, shadowy figures are carrying the ladder needed to raise the thieves up on to the already waiting crosses. The architectural background upper left is pure fantasy and does not yet betray any of the Italian influences found in Lombard’s later work.

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