Spanish school, first half of the 17th century.

Spanish school, first half of the seventeenth century.
"Ecce Homo.
Oil on pine board.
Presents faults and restorations.
Measurements: 52 x 29,5 x 3 cm.

In this painting, the episode of the Ecce Homo has been represented using a simple but emotionally intense composition. Jesus, handcuffed and with drops pearling his forehead, the henchmen of Pontius Pilate have just placed the crown of thorns on him and wrapped his naked body with a scarlet robe to laugh at him (as king of the Jews). Soldiers brandish clubs to beat him. Pontius Pilate wears a sumptuous costume of silk and ermine. A servant girl whispers something in his ear. Visually dominates the light treatment, contrasted and effective, based on a spotlight from the window in the background. Incising fully on the figure of Christ, he creates expressive games of chiaroscuro to enhance the faces and fabrics, on a dark and neutral background that further enhances the physical presence of the characters. Also the chromatism is embedded in the baroque models of the time and therefore is based on a restricted and warm palette, nuanced, of ochre, earthy and carmine tones.

The theme of Ecce Homo belongs to the cycle of the Passion, and precedes the episode of the Crucifixion. Following this iconography, Jesus is presented at the moment when the soldiers mock him, after crowning him with thorns, dressing him in a purple tunic and placing a reed in his hand, kneeling and exclaiming "Hail, King of the Jews!". The words "Ecce Homo" are those pronounced by Pilate, who is represented in this scene next to Christ, dressed in elegant clothes, when presenting Christ before the crowd; its translation is "behold the man", a phrase by which he mocks Jesus and implies that the power of Christ was not such compared to that of the leaders who were judging him there. The Savior crowned with thorns or Man of Sorrows. For this scene, the evangelist Matthew is taken (Mt 27, 28-29:) and undressing him, they covered him with a scarlet cloak, and placed on his head a crown woven with thorns, and a reed in his right hand.