The Third Station of the Cross "Jesus falls under the cross the first time"

The Stations of the Cross rites became popular in Lithuanian parishes and in the late 18th century and throughout the 19th century. Eventually, many churches had series of 14 Stations of the Cross. Painted, printed or sculpted images depicting Christ’s Passion on the way from Pilate’s palace to Calvary were hung on the interior walls of churches or in special chapels in churchyards. The images were either brought from abroad or commissioned from local artists of varying ability. The Stations of the Cross were usually based on examples that were available to artists, in prints, lithographs, sets of oleographs, illustrations in prayer books, or individual pictures. Sometimes, a whole series was based on one example, but sometimes artists interpreted each one from different sources. Depending on their ability and their creativity, artists adapted the compositions: they removed or included separate figures or details, and made their own variations. A French print from the 19th century may serve as an example of the Stations of the Cross in a primitive style. The same scheme for the Third Station was used by other artists to make the Stations of the Cross for churches in Židikai, Pievėnai and Kernavė.

Text author Dalia Vasiliūnienė

The Stations of the Cross rites became popular in Lithuanian parishes and