Northern European School, ca. 1800

Northern European School, ca. 1800.
"Christ tied to the column".
Oil on panel.
Measurements: 45 x 38 cm; 58 x 47.5 cm (frame).

Christ tied to the column is an enormously dramatic subject, but not narrative, thought to incite the faithful to be moved before the physical suffering of Christ and to admire his acceptance before the misfortunes that he has to suffer to redeem humanity. In this case Jesus is represented in solitude, dejected, as his sorrowful face and frustrated gesture reveal. The thinness of his legs, the somber body attenuated with a tenebrist illumination, are features that deepen the Calvary of the last moments of Jesus' life. The scene takes place in the Praetorium of Jerusalem, the center of Roman power, where Christ has arrived for the second and last time, after passing through different instances. He is exhibited before the crowd ("Ecce Homo"), who preferred to free Barabbas rather than him and, either before or after this exhibition, he is stripped of his clothes and tied to a pillar, where he will be subjected to mockery regarding his alleged crime, being "king of the Jews", and tortures, including scourging and crowning with thorns.