Peter Paul Rubens 1577 – 1640

Christ with the Crown of Thorns

oil on panel (126 × 96 cm) — c. 1612 Hermitage, St. Petersburg

Peter Paul Rubens biography

This work is linked to John 19:5

The Roman governor Pilate presents Jesus to the people: "Behold the Man!" Rubens reveals Jesus to us by having Pilate and the soldier remove the red cloth. He wears a crown of thorns and on his shoulders are the marks of the flagellation. Yet he doesn't seem to have much pain.

It is a frontal composition with Jesus in the foreground. Rubens may have been influenced by Ecce Homo's by Cigoli, Caravaggio and others.

Rate this work of art: