Novo-Hispanic school; XVIII century.

Novo-Hispanic school; XVIII century.
"Ecce homo".
Oil on canvas. Relined.
It has a frame of the nineteenth century.
Measurements: 85 x 71 cm; 98 x 73 cm (frame).
This work that collects a traditional theme in the history of art, stands out for the deep pathos expressed by the artist. The painting is close to the naturalistic reality of the Baroque, capturing a scene of great intimacy, simple and clear composition. The body of Christ is arranged in the foreground, the absence of narrative details deepens the expressive power and pathos, designed to move the mood of the faithful who pray before the image, within a tremendist sense very typical of the Baroque in Catholic countries. The theme of Ecce Homo belongs to the cycle of the Passion, and precedes the episode of the Crucifixion. Following this iconography, Jesus is presented crowned with thorns, dressed in red, symbolic color of the Passion, and with a reed in his hand. The words "Ecce Homo" are those pronounced by Pilate when presenting Christ before the crowd; its translation is "behold the man", a phrase by which he mocks Jesus and implies that the power of Christ was not such in front of that of the leaders who were judging him there.
Formally, this work faithfully follows the guidelines of baroque naturalism. It is worth mentioning that, during the Spanish colonial domination, a mainly religious painting was developed, aimed at Christianizing the indigenous peoples. The local painters were modeled on Spanish works, which they followed literally in terms of types and iconography. The most frequent models were the harquebusier angels and the triangular virgins, however, in the early years of the 19th century, already in times of independence and political opening of some of the colonies, several artists began to represent a new model of painting with its own identity.