In this iconographically exceptional painting, the Holy Cross and the Lamb of God are depicted centrally. Above them is the Holy Spirit and around them are the Arma Christi – the tools with which Jesus was tortured and killed. We see the lance, the sponge, the dice, the pieces of silver, the hammer, the lash… and also the cock that crowed. The power of such depictions lies in the way the Passion is unravelled into its separate symbols. This encourages beholders to focus on, to reflect on and to reconstruct Christ’s suffering. As a devotional image, the painting is a guide to meditation and contemplation. It therefore fits smoothly into the late mediaeval tradition of mysticism. It stands out, however, in its further elaboration. Next to the Arma Christi, there are twelve banderoles inscribed with the same number of Christian virtues, among them faith, hope, charity, prudence, justice, courage and temperance. These banderoles end in lamb's heads, all gazing towards the Lamb of God. The blood spouting from the Lamb of God’s bleeding heart pours into a chalice, from which the attendant lambs each receive a stream of blood.