The origin of this composition goes back to Sebastiano del Piombo (q.v.) whose Christ carrying the Cross was one of the most potent images of the early sixteenth century, repeated by many different artists throughout the Netherlands and Spain for a long period.   The painting here is one of two versions, but most of the other variants of the composition, both by Coxcie and other artists, omit the good thief. Several variants of this composition have also been associated with Spanish artists probably because one of the three versions of Sebastiano del Piombo’s Christ carrying the Cross was in Spain in the 16th century. However, the mood of Coxcie’s composition is closer to the Sebastiano Christ carrying the Cross in the Museum of Fine Arts, Budapest.

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