Flagellation of Christ
Christ Crowned with Thorns
Purchased on the Belle da Costa Greene Fund with the assistance of the Fellows and with special assistance of Mrs. Frederick B. Adams, Sr., Mrs. Robert Charles, Mr. Laurens M. Hamilton, The Heineman Foundation, Mrs. Donald F. Hyde, Mrs. Jacob M. Kaplan
At the left, Pilate, decadently dressed in a tall bag hat worn over a dagged chaperon, directs Christ's torment, the scepter of authority in his right hand. The frail Christ is tied to a column by two men in exotically pointed hats, while two others energetically punch or flagellate the Savior's bleeding body. The unusual reddish color of the column and its base might refer to Christ's blood. In the smaller miniature, Pilate, again at the left, directs the crowning of Christ with thorns. While others continue to strike the blindfolded Savior, two men apply the tortuous crown with long staves.