Ecce Homo 1605

Ecce Homo is an oil painting by the Italian Baroque master Caravaggio. It is housed in the Palazzo Bianco, Genoa. Contemporary accounts claim the... more

by Caravaggio

Title

Ecce Homo 1605

Artist

Caravaggio

Medium

Painting - Oil On Canvas

Description

Ecce Homo is an oil painting by the Italian Baroque master Caravaggio. It is housed in the Palazzo Bianco, Genoa. Contemporary accounts claim the piece was part of an unannounced competition between three artists, and that the Caravaggio version was eventually sent to Spain.
The scene is taken from the Gospel of John, 19:5. Pontius Pilate displays Christ to the crowd with the words, "Ecce homo!" ("Behold the man"). Caravaggio's version of the scene combined Pilate's display with the earlier moment of Christ, already crowned with thorns, mockingly robed like a king by his tormentors. Massimi already possessed a Crowning with Thorns by Caravaggio (thought to be the Crowning with Thorns in Prato), and Ecce Homo may have been intended as a companion piece. Stylistically, the painting displays characteristics of Caravaggio's mature Roman-period style. The forms are visible close-up and modeled by dramatic light, the absence of depth or background, and the psychological realism of, the torturer, who seems to mix sadism with pity. Pilate, in keeping with tradition, is shown as a rather neutral and perhaps almost sympathetic figure. He is also depicted wearing anachronistic clothing which was more contemporary to Caravaggio's time.

Uploaded

December 22nd, 2022