Pieter Bruegel the Elder, Christ Carrying the Cross, 1564

Forget the title of this painting, and look at it with fresh eyes. Bruegel scatters a crowd across an awe-inspiring landscape of lush greens and browns, giving nature center stage and contrasting the immensity of the environment against the relative littleness of humanity. This re-prioritization, this turning the tables, gives away Bruegel's piece as classic Northern Renaissance.

Despite Bruegel's emphasis on the natural world, he puts an immense amount of detail into his people. Note the red-clad soldiers dabbling about various parts of the landscape. Bruegel painted these fellows' uniforms to resemble those of the Spanish invading forces who occupied Flemish territory during Bruegel's lifetime. On a larger scale, the reds serve as a colorful connect-the-dots, leading one's eye across the painting to the main event (main according to the people, of course), Golgotha. Golgotha, a.k.a. Calvary, marks the location of Christ's crucifixion. Translated, it means "place of the skull," and Bruegel inserts a large animal's cranium into the bottom right corner of the painting to acknowledge this.

Now let me draw your attention to the frontman of this piece, the ubiquitous Jesus Christ, messiah, son of God, and, in this case, spectacle. Bruegel's painting doesn't put the spotlight on Jesus. He hides him, better than most Where's Waldo puzzles, amongst the masses. Although in the center, Jesus doesn't appear larger than his fellow humans - in fact, he crouches beneath the cross he struggles to carry. The humanization - almost degradation - of Jesus offers a perspective more accurate to the time of his crucifixion. On the road to his execution, Jesus wouldn't have been glorified or put on any sort of pedestal, he'd be humiliated and ridiculed and spat on.

Bruegel's masterpiece manages to send a trifold message - one to emphasize the glory of nature, one to make a socio-political statement about the Spaniards, and another to portray the iconic road to Calvary scene in a fresh light.