The Flagellation of Christ, sometimes known as Christ at the Column or the Scourging at the Pillar, is a scene from the Passion of Christ very frequently shown in Christian art, in cycles of the Passion or the larger subject of the ''

Life of Christ The life of Jesus in the New Testament is primarily outlined in the four canonical gospels, which includes his genealogy and nativity, public ministry, passion, prophecy, resurrection and ascension. Other parts of the New Testament – suc ...

''. It is the fourth station of the modern alternate

Stations of the Cross The Stations of the Cross or the Way of the Cross, also known as the Way of Sorrows or the Via Crucis, refers to a series of images depicting Jesus Christ on the day of his crucifixion and accompanying prayers. The stations grew out of imita ...

, and a Sorrowful Mystery of the

Rosary The Rosary (; la, , in the sense of "crown of roses" or "garland of roses"), also known as the Dominican Rosary, or simply the Rosary, refers to a set of prayers used primarily in the Catholic Church, and to the physical string of knots or ...

.''Old Master Paintings and Drawings'' by Roy Bolton 2009 page 70 The column to which Christ is normally tied, and the rope,

scourge A scourge is a whip or lash, especially a multi-thong type, used to inflict severe corporal punishment or self-mortification. It is usually made of leather. Etymology The word is most commonly considered to be derived from Old French ''escorgie ...

, whip or birch are elements in the Arma Christi. The Basilica di Santa Prassede in Rome claims to possess the original column. From the 15th century the subject is also painted in individual works, rather than as one of a series of Passion scenes. The most-discussed single work is the enigmatic treatment on a small panel in

Urbino Urbino ( ; ; Romagnol: ''Urbìn'') is a walled city in the Marche region of Italy, south-west of Pesaro, a World Heritage Site notable for a remarkable historical legacy of independent Renaissance culture, especially under the patronage of ...

Piero della Francesca Piero della Francesca (, also , ; – 12 October 1492), originally named Piero di Benedetto, was an Italian painter of the Early Renaissance. To contemporaries he was also known as a mathematician and geometer. Nowadays Piero della Francesca ...

(1455–60), whose precise meaning has eluded generations of art historians. At the same time ''Christ at the Column'' or ''Christ at the Stake'' developed as an image of Christ alone tied to a column or stake. This was most popular in Baroque sculpture, and also related to the subject, not found in the canonical Gospels, of Christ in the Dungeon. It is often difficult to distinguish between these two, and between ''Christ at the Column'' and a ''Flagellation''. The Church of the Flagellation, at the supposed site in Jerusalem, was rebuilt in 1839 and again in 1929.

Gospels

Flagellation Flagellation (Latin , 'whip'), flogging or whipping is the act of beating the human body with special implements such as whips, rods, switches, the cat o' nine tails, the sjambok, the knout, etc. Typically, flogging has been imposed on ...

at the hands of the Romans is mentioned in three of the four

canonical Gospel Gospel originally meant the Christian message ("the gospel"), but in the 2nd century it came to be used also for the books in which the message was set out. In this sense a gospel can be defined as a loose-knit, episodic narrative of the words an ...

s
John 19:1Mark 15:15
an
Matthew 27:26
and was the usual prelude to

crucifixion Crucifixion is a method of capital punishment in which the victim is tied or nailed to a large wooden cross or beam and left to hang until eventual death from exhaustion and asphyxiation. It was used as a punishment by the Persians, Cartha ...

under

Roman law Roman law is the legal system of ancient Rome, including the legal developments spanning over a thousand years of jurisprudence, from the Twelve Tables (c. 449 BC), to the '' Corpus Juris Civilis'' (AD 529) ordered by Eastern Roman emperor Jus ...

. None of the three accounts is more detailed than John's "Then Pilate took Jesus and had him flogged" (NIV). Luke's comparable account
Luke 22:63-65
is of the High Priest's guards beating and mocking Jesus. In the Passion of Christ the episode precedes the

Mocking of Christ The mocking of Jesus occurred several times, after his trial and before his crucifixion according to the canonical gospels of the New Testament. It is considered part of Jesus' passion. According to the gospel narratives, Jesus had predicted th ...

and the Crowning with Thorns, which according to the Gospels happened at the same time or immediately after. Unlike the flogging, these were not part of the normal Roman judicial process.

In art

It first appears in art in the West in the 9th century. It is almost never found in

Byzantine art Byzantine art comprises the body of Christian Greek artistic products of the Eastern Roman Empire, as well as the nations and states that inherited culturally from the empire. Though the empire itself emerged from the decline of Rome and lasted ...

, and remains very rare in

Eastern Orthodox Eastern Orthodoxy, also known as Eastern Orthodox Christianity, is one of the three main branches of Chalcedonian Christianity, alongside Catholicism and Protestantism. Like the Pentarchy of the first millennium, the mainstream (or " canoni ...

art at any date. Initially found in

illuminated manuscript An illuminated manuscript is a formally prepared document where the text is often supplemented with flourishes such as borders and miniature illustrations. Often used in the Roman Catholic Church for prayers, liturgical services and psalms, th ...

s and small ivories, there are surviving monumental wall-paintings from around 1000 in Italy. From the start there are most often three figures, Christ and two servants of

Pontius Pilate Pontius Pilate (; grc-gre, Πόντιος Πιλᾶτος, ) was the fifth governor of the Roman province of Judaea, serving under Emperor Tiberius from 26/27 to 36/37 AD. He is best known for being the official who presided over the trial of ...

who whip him. In early depictions Christ may be naked, or wearing a long robe, facing out or seen from behind; from the 12th century it is standard that Christ wears a loincloth ( perizoma) and faces out towards the viewer. Christ's face is normally visible, giving artists the "technical problem of showing him receiving the strokes on his back - the usual place - while at the same time leaving his face visible. Often he appears to be receiving the strokes on the front of his body.

is sometimes shown watching the scene, and his wife's servant may approach him with her message, and in the later Middle Ages, probably under the influence of Passion plays, the number of men beating Christ may be three or four, increasingly caricatured in the North as grotesque figures in the dress of contemporary mercenaries. Sometimes another figure, who may be Herod, is present. The Flagellation was at the hands of those working for Pontius Pilate, but the floggers may sometimes wear Jewish hats. Following the Maestà of

Duccio Duccio di Buoninsegna ( , ; – ) was an Italian painter active in Siena, Tuscany, in the late 13th and early 14th century. He was hired throughout his life to complete many important works in government and religious buildings around Italy. Du ...

, the scene may take place in public, before an audience of the Jewish people. The

Franciscan , image = FrancescoCoA PioM.svg , image_size = 200px , caption = A cross, Christ's arm and Saint Francis's arm, a universal symbol of the Franciscans , abbreviation = OFM , predecessor = , ...

s, who promoted self-flagellation as a means of identification with the suffering of Christ, were probably responsible for a number of large Italian processional crosses in which the Flagellation occupies the back of the cross, with a Crucifixion on the front. These were presumably sometimes followed in processions by flagellants, who could see Christ suffering in front of them.Schiller, 67

In film

In modern times, filmmakers have depicted Christ being flogged. It is a significant scene in

Mel Gibson Mel Columcille Gerard Gibson (born January 3, 1956) is an American actor, film director, and producer. He is best known for his action hero roles, particularly his breakout role as Max Rockatansky in the first three films of the post-apocal ...

2004 2004 was designated as an International Year of Rice by the United Nations, and the International Year to Commemorate the Struggle Against Slavery and its Abolition (by UNESCO). Events January * January 3 – Flash Airlines Flight 60 ...

The Passion of the Christ ''The Passion of the Christ'' is a 2004 American epic biblical drama film produced, directed and co-written by Mel Gibson and starring Jim Caviezel as Jesus of Nazareth, Maia Morgenstern as Mary, mother of Jesus, and Monica Bellucci as Mar ...

''. In Kubrick's '' A Clockwork Orange'', Alex imagines himself as a Roman soldier flogging Jesus.

Notable examples

Single works: * ''Flagellation of Christ'' (Piero della Francesca) 1455–60 * ''Christ at the Column'' (Antonello da Messina) ca. 1475 * ''The Flagellation of Christ'' (Caravaggio) 1607 * ''Christ at the Column'' (Caravaggio) 1607 In cycles: * ''Maestà'' (Duccio) *

Scrovegni Chapel The Scrovegni Chapel ( it, Cappella degli Scrovegni ), also known as the Arena Chapel, is a small church, adjacent to the Augustinian monastery, the ''Monastero degli Eremitani'' in Padua, region of Veneto, Italy. The chapel and monastery ar ...

Giotto Giotto di Bondone (; – January 8, 1337), known mononymously as Giotto ( , ) and Latinised as Giottus, was an Italian painter and architect from Florence during the Late Middle Ages. He worked during the Gothic/ Proto-Renaissance period. ...

Gallery of art

File:Duccio di Buoninsegna 030.jpg, ''Maestà'' by Duccio File:Piero - The Flagellation.jpg, ''Flagellation of Christ'' by Piero della Francesca File:Jesus in Golgotha by Theophanes the Cretan.jpg,

Greek Orthodox The term Greek Orthodox Church (Greek: Ἑλληνορθόδοξη Ἐκκλησία, ''Ellinorthódoxi Ekklisía'', ) has two meanings. The broader meaning designates "the entire body of Orthodox (Chalcedonian) Christianity, sometimes also call ...

fresco by Theophanes the Cretan File:Bacchiacca - Flagellazione di cristo (Washington).jpg, ''Flagellation of Christ'', by

Bacchiacca Francesco d'Ubertino Verdi, called Bachiacca (say “bah ki ah ka”). He is also known as Francesco Ubertini, il Bacchiacca (1494–1557). He was an Italian painter of the Renaissance whose work is characteristic of the Florentine Mannerist sty ...

File:Guercino Flagellazione.jpg,

Guercino Giovanni Francesco Barbieri (February 8, 1591 – December 22, 1666),Miller, 1964 better known as Guercino, or il Guercino , was an Italian Baroque painter and draftsman from Cento in the Emilia region, who was active in Rome and Bologna. The ...

, 1657 File:Flagella.jpg, Nicolò Grassi, 1720 File:GD Tiepolo Flagellazione.jpg,

Giovanni Domenico Tiepolo Giovanni Domenico Tiepolo (August 30, 1727March 3, 1804) was an Italian painter and printmaker in etching. He was the son of artist Giovanni Battista Tiepolo and elder brother of Lorenzo Baldissera Tiepolo. Life history Domenico was born in V ...

Image:Cristo alla colonna, Chiesa Madre Solarino.JPG, ''Christ at the Column'', Italian sculpture, 1817 Image:Cristo atado a la columna 20131225.jpg, ''

Christ at the Column The Flagellation of Christ, sometimes known as Christ at the Column or the Scourging at the Pillar, is a scene from the Passion of Christ very frequently shown in Christian art, in cycles of the Passion or the larger subject of the ''Life of ...

'' by Gregorio Fernández File:William-Adolphe Bouguereau (1825-1905) - The Flagellation of Our Lord Jesus Christ (1880).jpg, ''The Flagellation of Our Lord Jesus Christ'' by William-Adolphe Bouguereau

References