Follower of Gabriel Franck, 16th century

Flemish school of the 16th century. Follower of GABRIEL FRANCK (Netherlands, c. 1590 - 1639).
"Ecce Homo".
Oil on cradled panel.
Measurements: 64,5 x 49,5 cm.

Stylistically this Ecce Homo can be related to the paintings of Gabriel Franck, a painter of personal style whose works also reached Spain. We can observe Christ who accepts his destiny with a serene face, adopting a pious attitude that exalts his figure. Portrayed with only his long bust, his monumental body stands out against a neutral background, which already anticipates what will be one of the most relevant aesthetic characteristics for the tenebrist current of the Baroque. The artist boldly introduces this neutral background with the intention of creating an image of greater intimacy and symbolic quality. However, he does not abandon the aesthetic characteristics of the Flemish primitives, based on the quality of the materials and the careful detailing. This work depicts the theme of Ecce Homo, very common in this type of painting. Of simple and clear composition, with the face of Christ in the foreground, the absence of narrative details deepens the expressive power and pathos, designed to move the spirit 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 at the moment when the soldiers mock him, after crowning him with thorns, dressing him in a purple tunic (here red, symbolic color of the Passion) and placing a reed in his hand, kneeling and exclaiming "Hail, King of the Jews!". The words "Ecce Homo" are those pronounced by Pilate when presenting Christ before the crowd; their translation is "behold the man", a phrase by which he mocks Jesus and implies that the power of Christ was not such as that of the leaders who were judging him there.