Lucas Cranach the Elder 1472 – 1553

Christ Crowned with Thorns

oil on panel (28 × 21 cm) — c. 1510
private collection,

Lucas Cranach the Elder biography

This work is linked to Mark 15:17

After the flagellation ordered by the Roman governor Pilate, soldiers started to mock Jesus because of his nickname 'King of the Jews'. He was stripped naked and then dressed in a purple gown. On his head they put a crown made out of thorn branches. According to the Gospel of John, this is how Jesus was presented to the people ("Behold the man!").

Lucas Cranach shows the face of a suffering man who has accepted his fate. A few lines of blood show that the thorns must have stuck deep into the skin.

Experts say this portrait refers to early Netherlandish art by Van Eyck cum suis.

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