This painting Golgotha was created in 1880-1890-s. In the Bible this word, Golgotha, means the place of the Skull — a small hill or rock, where Jesus Christ was crucified. Under the painting’s frame in the bottom left corner, there is a signature: JAnivanter. Practically nothing is known about this artist: the experts were only able to ascertain that he had been working in Austria and Germany in 1890-1920-s, where he was painting portraits and religious themes. 

Mary Magdalene is in desperate prayer by the Christ’s side. She was one of His most devoted pupils, who followed Him until the very end. She witnessed the Crucifixion and was the first human being to see the resurrected Savior. According to one of the versions, she came from the city of Magdala, hence she was given the name of Magdalene. In Western Europe, the artists often depicted her with loose red hair.

The artist depicted Mary the Holy Mother to the left of the Christ lying unconscious. Monks and visionaries of the late Middle Ages asserted that Virgin Mary fainted three times: on the way to Golgotha, near the Cross, and after Descent from the Cross. The artist depicted her wearing traditional blue clothes symbolizing the virginity and the infinity of the god’s kingdom. The West European tradition was to depict the Holy Mother in blue and red: combined, these colors are construed as the unity of the two worlds – the earth and the divine world.

It is likely, that this painting is a copy of another Golgotha painted by Herman Clementz in 1880-s. The piece by Clementz was lost, but its black and white image was preserved in Niva magazine: