''Christ Crowned with Thorns'', sometimes known as ''Christ Mocked'', is an

oil on panel A panel painting is a painting made on a flat panel of wood, either a single piece or a number of pieces joined together. Until canvas became the more popular support medium in the 16th century, panel painting was the normal method, when not pain ...

painting by

Hieronymus Bosch Hieronymus Bosch (; ; born Jheronimus van Aken ; – 9 August 1516) was a Dutch people, Dutch painter from Duchy of Brabant, Brabant. He is one of the most notable representatives of the Early Netherlandish painting school. His work, gene ...

. It is held in the

National Gallery The National Gallery is an art museum in Trafalgar Square in the City of Westminster, in Central London, England. Founded in 1824, it houses a collection of more than 2,300 paintings dating from the mid-13th century to 1900. The current di ...

in London, which dates it to around 1510, though some art historians prefer earlier dates. Another painting of the same subject in Bosch's style but with a different composition is held by the

El Escorial El Escorial, or the Royal Site of San Lorenzo de El Escorial (), or (), is a historical residence of the king of Spain located in the town of San Lorenzo de El Escorial, up the valley ( road distance) from the town of El Escorial, Madrid, El ...

near Madrid, '' Christ Crowned with Thorns''; this is now usually attributed to a follower. Other paintings similar to the London version by followers of Bosch are held in several public collections, including in particular in the Koninklijk Museum in Antwerp, but also examples in the

Philadelphia Museum of Art The Philadelphia Museum of Art (PMA) is an List of art museums#North America, art museum originally chartered in 1876 for the Centennial Exposition in Philadelphia. The main museum building was completed in 1928 on Fairmount, a hill located at ...

, and the

Kunstmuseum Bern The Museum of Fine Arts Bern (German: ''Kunstmuseum Bern''), established in 1879 in Bern, is the museum of fine arts of the de facto capital of Switzerland. Collections Its holdings run from the Middle Ages to the present. It houses works by Pa ...

,De doornenkroning van ChristusDe doornenkroning van Christus met stichtersportret
Kunstmuseum Bern, RKD which are probably based on another painting of the subject by Bosch, now lost. Similar scenes are also included in the in the Museu de Belles Arts de Valencia, also by a follower of Bosch.

Description

The oil painting combines two events from Biblical account of the

Passion of Jesus The Passion (from Latin , "to suffer, bear, endure") is the short final period before the death of Jesus, described in the four canonical gospels. It is commemorated in Christianity every year during Holy Week. The ''Passion'' may include, amo ...

: the

Mocking of Jesus 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 the passion of Jesus. According to the gospel narratives, Jesus had predi ...

and the Crowning with Thorns. A serene Jesus, dressed in white at the centre of the busy scene, is gazing calmly from the picture, in contrast with the violent intent of the four men around him. Two armoured soldiers stand above and behind him, with two other spectators kneeling below and in front. The soldier to the right, with oak leaves in his hat and a spiked collar, is grasping Christ's shoulder, while the other soldier to the left, dressed in green with a broad-headed hunting

crossbow bolt A bolt or quarrel is a dart-like projectile used by crossbows. The word ''quarrel'' is from the Old French ''quarrel'' (> French ''carreau'') "square thing", specialized use as ''quarrel d'arcbaleste'' (> ''carreau d'arbalète'') "crossbow quar ...

through his headdress, holds the

crown of thorns According to the New Testament, a woven crown of thorns ( or ) was placed on the head of Jesus during the Passion of Jesus, events leading up to his crucifixion of Jesus, crucifixion. It was one of the Arma Christi, instruments of the Passion, e ...

in a gauntleted hand, about to thrust it onto Christ's head. The position of the crown of thorns creates a halo above the head of Jesus. In front, the man the left has a blue robe and red head covering, and the man to the right in a light red robe is grasping Christ's cloak to strip it off. Examination of the picture has shown that in the preliminary sketch, the scene was more brutal, and the cruelty has been toned down in the final version, making the men's expressions more enigmatic. The four tormentors of Christ may show different aspects of the

four humours Humorism, the humoral theory, or humoralism, was a system of medicine detailing a supposed makeup and workings of the human body, adopted by Ancient Greek and Roman physicians and philosophers. Humorism began to fall out of favor in the 17th ce ...

, with phlegmatic and melancholic soldiers, and sanguine and choleric spectators. The figures are crowded together in a small space in a single plane, in a manner reminiscent of Flemish devotional art of the type popularized by

Hans Memling Hans Memling (also spelled Memlinc; – 11 August 1494) was a German-Flemish people, Flemish painter who worked in the tradition of Early Netherlandish painting. Born in the Middle Rhine region, he probably spent his childhood in Mainz. During ...

and

Hugo van der Goes Hugo van der Goes ( – 1482) was a Flemish painter who was one of the most significant and original Early Netherlandish painters of the late 15th century. Van der Goes was an important painter of altarpieces as well as portraits. He introduced i ...

. The painting is on an oak panel and measures . It was painted on top of an unfinished painting of

Saint Christopher Saint Christopher (, , ; ) is venerated by several Christian denominations. According to these traditions, he was a martyr killed in the reign of the 3rd-century Roman Empire, Roman emperor Decius (), or alternatively under the emperor Maximin ...

, probably also by Bosch. It is in good condition, although some hues have faded, particularly red

lakes A lake is often a naturally occurring, relatively large and fixed body of water on or near the Earth's surface. It is localized in a basin or interconnected basins surrounded by dry land. Lakes lie completely on land and are separate from t ...

, and the copper greens are turning brown. Thinning paint has revealed some of the

underdrawing Underdrawing is a preparatory drawing done on a painting ground before paint is applied, for example, an imprimatura or an underpainting. Underdrawing was used extensively by 15th century painters like Jan van Eyck and Rogier van der Weyden. Thes ...

and

pentimenti In painting, a ; from the verb , meaning 'to repent'; plural ''pentimenti'') is "the presence or emergence of earlier images, forms, or strokes that have been changed and painted over". Sometimes the English form "pentiment" is used, especiall ...

. It was in the collection of

Hollingworth Magniac Hollingworth Magniac (1786–1867)Charles Mosley, editor, Burke's Peerage, Baronetage & Knightage, 107th edition, 3 volumes (Wilmington, Delaware, U.S.A.: Burke's Peerage (Genealogical Books) Ltd, 2003), volume 3, p. 4138. was a merchant and conno ...

, known as the Colworth collection, and then sold from the estate of his son

Charles Magniac Charles Magniac (1827 – 23 November 1891) was a British financier and Liberal politician who sat in the House of Commons in two periods between 1868 and 1886. Magniac was the eldest son of Hollingworth Magniac of Colworth, Bedfordshire. Fol ...

in 1892 and bought by Robert Thompson Crawshay (the fourth son of

Robert Thompson Crawshay Robert Thompson Crawshay (3 March 1817 – 10 May 1879) was a British ironmaster. Life Crawshay, youngest son of William Crawshay by his second wife, Bella Thompson, was born at Cyfarthfa Ironworks. He was educated at Dr. Prichard's school a ...

). It was later bought by an art dealer, the Galleria San Giorgio in Rome, and it was bought by the National Gallery in 1934.

Interpretation

''Christ Crowned with Thorns'' is both a departure from Bosch's usual style and from the way the Passion was customarily depicted at the time, with blood and violence. The painting is deceptively simple and has hidden symbolism. For example, the oak leaves in the hat of the figure at top right would have been understood at the time to refer to

Pope Julius II Pope Julius II (; ; born Giuliano della Rovere; 5 December 144321 February 1513) was head of the Catholic Church and ruler of the Papal States from 1503 to his death, in February 1513. Nicknamed the Warrior Pope, the Battle Pope or the Fearsome ...

, a member of the

della Rovere The House of Della Rovere (; literally "of the oak tree") was a powerful Italian noble family. It had humble origins in Savona, in Liguria, and acquired power and influence through nepotism and ambitious marriages arranged by two Della Rovere p ...

family; and the other soldier, with the crossbow bolt in his hat, refers to the alliance between the pope and the Holy Roman Emperor Maximilian I and

Louis XII of France Louis XII (27 June 14621 January 1515), also known as Louis of Orléans was King of France from 1498 to 1515 and King of Naples (as Louis III) from 1501 to 1504. The son of Charles, Duke of Orléans, and Marie of Cleves, he succeeded his second ...

in furtherance of the pope's militaristic ambitions. The lower figures represent the bourgeoisie and the peasantry; the lower figure on the right is identified as a Jew by his physiognomy, and the one on the left as a Turk by the crescent moon and star on his headdress; they refer to the fact that the pope was prepared to borrow money from Jews and even had dealings with the infidel Turks. File:Crowned with Thorns Bosch.jpg, '' Christ Crowned with Thorns'', by a follower of Bosch, in

File:Christ Crowned with Thorns with Donor.jpg, , by a follower of Bosch, in

Antwerp Antwerp (; ; ) is a City status in Belgium, city and a Municipalities of Belgium, municipality in the Flemish Region of Belgium. It is the capital and largest city of Antwerp Province, and the third-largest city in Belgium by area at , after ...

File:Bosch follower The Mocking of Christ (Philadelphia).jpg, Version, by a follower of Bosch, in the

File:Tríptico de la Passión Museo de Bellas Artes de Valecia.jpg, , by a follower of Bosch, in the Museu de Belles Arts de Valencia

References

{{DEFAULTSORT:Christ Crowned with Thorns 1510s paintings Paintings by Hieronymus Bosch Paintings in the National Gallery, London Paintings of Christ Crowned with Thorns Cultural depictions of Pope Julius II Cultural depictions of Louis XII Cultural depictions of Maximilian I, Holy Roman Emperor

Description

Interpretation

See also

References