The Mocking of Christ

After being captured Christ was mocked several times by bystanders. Here he is also being beaten.

The figures are packed in a small space, thus emphasizing that Christ is in oppression. The situation is threatening, yet he remains calm and resigned.

The panel was discovered in 2019 in a French kitchen, where it hang close to a hotplate. Experts at an auctioneers attributed it to Cimabue, partly because the size of the panel matches other works by the Florentine master (New York: Flagellation; London: Madonna). It is thought to have been part of a polyptych showing Passion episodes. It was sold for $26 million at the auction. The Louvre acquired it in 2023.