The way of the cross, the fourth station after Josef von Führich (1800-1876).

History

The Way of the Cross or the Stations of the Cross, also known as the Via Crucis, refers to a series of images of Jesus Christ on the day of his crucifixion. The possible path that Jesus walked to Mount Calvary in Jerusalem (the Via Dolorosa) has been the inspiration for the various stations. The stations help the Christian faithful to make a spiritual pilgrimage through the Passion of Christ. It has become one of the most popular devotions and its stations can be found in many Western Christian churches.

There are about fourteen images, each of which varies greatly in style, shape and placement of the stations. The classic depictions of the stations are small plaques with reliefs or paintings placed in or around the church. The fourteen stations are arranged in numbered order with almost every station being found in the bible. Stations three, seven and nine are not exactly described in any particular verse of the bible.

All the stations of the cross:

• The first station: Jesus is condemned to death
• The second station: He is made to bear his cross
• The third station: He falls the first time
• The fourth station: He meets his mother
• The fifth station: Simon of Cyrene is made to bear the cross
• The sixth station: Veronica wipes Jesus’ face
• The seventh station: He falls the second time
• The eighth station: The women of Jerusalem weep over Jesus
• The nineth station: He falls the third time
• The tenth station: He is stripped of his garments
• The eleventh station: He is nailed to the cross
• The twelfth station: He dies on the cross
• The thirteenth station: He is taken down from the cross
• The fourteenth station: He is placed in the sepulcher

‘After’

The word after is often used in museums, art galleries and antique stores. The meaning is very simple, it is a copy of that specific artist’s work where the word ‘after’ is placed before or after the artist’s name. It is very important not to forget that the word ‘after’ has nothing to do with ‘faking’ the artist’s work.

An (unknown) artist can paint a copy of a famous work which is exhibited in a museum. This copy if not a fake, because the (unknown) artist is not claiming to be the original artist of the work. When the (unknown) artist wants to sell his own copy, the word ‘after’ is placed before or after the original artist’s work. Now, the work is not a fake, but a nicely made copy.

Using the word ‘after’ for copies has already been done for centuries. But there are different levels of ‘afters’. An ‘after’ can already be an ‘after’ when an (unknown) artist is copying in 2020 the work ‘The starry night’ by Van Gogh. The (unknown) artist is far removed from the original artist by time and association. A very high level of an ‘after’ is when the original artist is involved or approves the ‘after’. Even an original signature by the original artist can be placed on the ‘after’.

Even tough an ‘after’ is a copy, the value and quality can still be very high and ‘afters’ will stay highly collectible.