The Mocking of Christ (van Dyck)
| The Mocking of Christ | |
|---|---|
| Artist | Anthony van Dyck |
| Year | 1628–1630 |
| Medium | oil on canvas |
| Dimensions | 111 cm × 93 cm (44 in × 37 in) |
| Location | Museo del Prado, Madrid |
The Mocking of Christ is an oil-on-canvas painting by the Flemish painter Anthony van Dyck (1599–1641) held in the Princeton University Art Museum.[1] The work was executed some time in the period from 1628 to 1630, when the influence of Rubens' Baroque style was tempered by the style of Titian whose work van Dyck had studied firsthand in Italy.[2][3]
Description
The painting depicts a scene from the story of the passion of Christ as described in Matthew 27 verses 27-29. Christ is depicted after he has been stripped of his clothes and a crown of thorns on his head. His head is hanging to the left and he is red-eyed as a result of the torture he has suffered. There are two tormentors on his left of whom one is busy placing a reed between Christ's bound hands. According to the gospel the reed was a mocking representation of a royal scepter as the accusations against Christ included that he had claimed to be a king.[3]
The second military figure standing in the shadows behind the other one is holding a staff in one hand while placing a scarlet mantel on Christ's shoulders. The staff makes clear he is not a common soldier but a Roman commander. This figure stares intently at Christ's face and appears to have suddenly come to realize the divine nature of the person he is tormenting. Van Dyck seems to equate this commander with another character from the gospels, the centurion Longinus who looking up to the dead Christ on the cross uttered the words, "Truly, this man was the Son of God." A similar personage appears in some Biblical paintings of Rubens.[3]
References
- ^ Richard Verdi (2002). Anthony Van Dyck: 1599-1641, Ecce Homo and the Mocking of Christ. Trustees of The Barber, University of Birmingham.
- ^ Anthony van Dyck, The Mocking of Christ, 1628–30 at the Princeton University Art Museum
- ^ a b c Martin, John Rupert. “Van Dyck as History Painter: ‘The Mocking of Christ.’” Proceedings of the American Philosophical Society, vol. 121, no. 3, 1977, pp. 227–34. JSTOR, http://www.jstor.org/stable/986412. Accessed 2 July 2025.
External links
- Media related to The Mocking of Christ by Anthony Van Dyck (Princeton University Art Museum) at Wikimedia Commons