Christ Falling on the Way to Calvary, also known asLo Spasimo orIl Spasimo di Sicilia, is a painting by the ItalianHigh Renaissance painterRaphael, of c. 1514–16,^[1] now in theMuseo del Prado in Madrid. It is an important work for the development of his style.

Christ Falling on the Way to Calvary
Artist	Raphael
Year	c. 1514-1516
Type	Oil on paneltransferred to canvas
Dimensions	318 cm × 229 cm (125 in × 90 in)
Location	Museo del Prado,Madrid

It shows the common subject ofChrist Carrying the Cross tohis crucifixion, at the moment when he fell and his mother suffers a spasm of agony, theSwoon of the Virgin, or "Lo Spasimo".^[2] All the emotion of the painting is densely crammed into the foreground and the background is similar to that of a stage set with distant groups of people and crosses. The man on the left in the foreground is similar to a figure in Raphael's paintingThe Judgement of Solomon in theRaphael Rooms in theVatican Palace, except reversed.Simon of Cyrene lifts Christ's cross momentarily and looks sternly at the guards. The four Marys are depicted on the right side of the painting and towering on either side of the composition are the guards.^[3] The concept of, and devotion to, the "spasm" of the Virgin was fashionable, if somewhat controversial, in early-16th-century Catholicism, although in this work the Virgin has only fallen to her knees, not collapsed or fainted, as is often shown.^[4]

The panel was commissioned by theSicilian monastery ofSanta Maria dello Spasimo inPalermo. Painted in Rome around 1517, it was shipped by sea, but the ship had a troubled journey and finally sank. This episode was narrated byVasari:

...As it was being borne by sea to Palermo, a great tempest cast the ship upon a rock, and it was broken to pieces, and the crew lost, and all the cargo, except this picture, which was carried in its case by the sea to Genoa. Here being drawn to shore, it was seen to be a thing divine, and was taken care of, being found uninjured, even the winds and waves in their fury respecting the beauty of such a work.^[5]

As the news of this was spread abroad, the Sicilian monks sought to regain the miraculous painting, but they had to ask for the Pope's intercession to retrieve it. It was carried safely toSicily, and placed inPalermo, where it acquired great fame.^[6]

In 1661 the painting was acquired by the Spanish Viceroy Ferrando de Fonseca on behalf of KingPhilip IV, who wanted it placed on the main altarpiece of theRoyal Alcazar of Madrid chapel. Then it stayed in Paris from 1813 to 1822, because it was one of the paintingsNapoleon took asbooty during hiswar campaigns, and while there the painting was transferred to canvas, a practice much adopted in France during those times. After Paris, the picture (unlike many) was returned and finally re-integrated into theSpanish royal collection, later transferred to thePrado.^[7] Its present condition is not very good, mainly due to its change of support. However, its quality is clearer since cleaning and restoration in 2012.

In the past its status as a work by the hand of Raphael has been disputed, but it is now generally accepted as not merely designed but in large part painted by Raphael himself, no doubt with the usual workshop assistance for the easier areas.

Perhaps by royal commission, in 1674,Juan Carreño de Miranda executed a splendid copy of Raphael's original, which was displayed to the public on the main altar of the Convent of Santa Ana of barefoot Carmelites in Madrid. Carreño, renouncing his own style, much looser and more fluffy, faithfully follows the color, the finished invoice and the precise drawing of the original. It belongs and is at display at TheReal Academia de Bellas Artes de San Fernando in Madrid.^[8]

• List of paintings by Raphael
• Christ Going to Calvary, 1534 painting byPolidoro da Caravaggio

• De Vecchi, Pierluigi,Raffaello, Rizzoli,Milan (1975).(in Italian)
• Franzese, Paolo,Raffaello,Mondadori Arte,Milan (2008).(in Italian)
• Gherardi, Pompeo,Della Vita E Delle Opere Di Raffaello Sanzio Da Urbino (1874), Kessinger Publishing (2010).(in Italian)
• Hoeniger, Cathleen,The Afterlife of Raphael's Paintings, Cambridge University Press (2010).
• Penny, Nicholas, National Gallery Catalogues (new series):The Sixteenth Century Italian Paintings, Volume I, 2004, National Gallery Publications Ltd,ISBN 1-85709-908-7

• Lo Spasimo at the Prado
• Raphael at the Prado and other Museums
• Raphael's works on the Online Gallery of the Museo del Prado
•   Media related toSpasimo of Sicily at Wikimedia Commons