Italian school; 17th century.

Italian school; XVII century.
"The flagellation of Christ".
Oil on canvas.
Presents inscription on the back.
It has frame of the twentieth century.
Measurements: 70 x 50 cm; 90 x 77,5 cm (frame).
In this canvas the theme of the flagellation of Christ is approached, developing in an indeterminate space dominated by darkness. The scene follows a compositional scheme of Italian tradition, the Italian influence is also appreciated in the spatial concept, but also the proximity with native developments. Christ is being scourged by several henchmen, whose movement has been frozen in aggressive and inclement gestures. Jesus' anatomy seems to emanate inner light. The narrative of the scene is developed on different planes, since in the looks and in the expressive grammar of each character we can guess their thoughts in the face of the injustice they are witnessing.
As for its iconography, the four Gospels mention the punishment that Christ suffers at this moment, although they do not refer to any column: this iconography arises from the word "punishment" used by Luke, and it was known as a moment prior to the Crucifixion in the words of Josephus, for example. Throughout the Middle Ages, the column venerated in Jerusalem was used for these representations, characterized by its height. There is another typology, however, which closely follows the model of the relic preserved in St. Praxedes in Rome since 1233 and that the Council of Trent took care to recover for art, characterized precisely by the marble in which it is made and for being low. This model of column, which does not deny the previous one as theologians recognize two moments in which Christ was scourged, was used in art from the late sixteenth century, coexisting with the high one, and spread throughout Europe rapidly.