Much of the impact of the composition derives from its dynamic organisation along the main diagonals.
We 'enter' the scene from the bottom right corner, where St Veronica in her Venetian gown strains forward to wipe the sweat and blood off Christ's face; follow the lines of the wooden upright of the cross, Christ's body collapsed under the weight, the tormentor's brutal blows, to the furthest point in the upper left, where the executioner pulls on the rope around Christ's waist, urging him on to Golgotha in the distance.
His windblown cloak picks up the red of Veronica's dress.
Alternatively, we can scan the picture from upper right, from the mounted officers pointing to and discussing the events below; follow the wooden lance shaft to where John's green cloak, seized by a soldier, seems to flow around the head-dresses and shoulders of the Maries into Veronica's out-thrust veil.
The Virgin's dark mantle isolates Her as She stands, becalmed in the jostling crowd, wiping the tears from Her eyes.
However we read the painting, we are inexorably drawn to Christ, crowned with thorns.
Although His eyes turn to Veronica, His is the only figure depicted virtually in full face, the Man of Sorrows of devotional imagery.
