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Located on the inner façade of the cathedral, this is the most impressive of the murals of the Passion of Christ that were the contribution of Pordenone to the large-scale decorative cycle painted by various artists in Cremona cathedral. The ample space offered by the Romanesque building allowed Pordenone to give free rein to his violent, dramatic, and highly-charged theatrical vein. The composition has the air of a painterly whirlwind and was much appreciated by the public.
The Crucifixion by Pordenone dominate the nave; an elevated Golgotha towers over the portal of the entrance. Pordenone places the cross at an angle in the picture plane, which moves Christ to the right of centre, making the composition more dynamic. The movement of the riders beneath the crosses echoes the crosses above them. A circular configuration results, and Mary has fallen into a faint at its centre.
In the lower zone of the wall next to the portal to the church Pordenone painted the Lamentation in 1522. Not until 1529 did the Lamentation receive its pendant, when Bernardino Gatti painted the Resurrection on the other side of the portal.
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