Flemish School; circa 1500.
"Ecce homo.
Oil on oak panel.
It has a 19th century carved and gilded wooden frame.
Measurements: 27 x 20 cm; 32 x 25 cm (frame).
Christ accepts with a serene face his destiny adopting a pious attitude that enhances his figure. Portrayed with only his long bust, his monumental body stands out against a neutral background, which already anticipates what would be one of the most relevant aesthetic characteristics for the tenebrist current of the Baroque. The artist boldly introduced this neutral background with the intention of creating an image of greater intimacy and symbolic quality. However, he did not abandon the aesthetic characteristics typical of the Flemish primitives, based on the quality of the materials and the painstaking attention to detail that is reflected here, for example, in the gilded powers on the panel, or in the angular folds of Jesus' tunic. This work depicts the theme of Ecce Homo, which is very common in this type of painting. The composition is simple and clear, with Christ's face in the foreground, and the absence of narrative details enhances the expressive power and pathos, designed to move the soul of the faithful who pray before the image, in a tremendist sense typical of the Baroque period in Catholic countries. The theme of Ecce Homo belongs to the Passion cycle 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 (here red, the symbolic colour of the Passion) and placing a reed in his hand, kneeling down and exclaiming "Hail, King of the Jews". The words "Ecce Homo" are those pronounced by Pilate when presenting Christ to the crowd; the translation is "behold the man", a phrase by which he mocks Jesus and implies that Christ's power was no match for that of the rulers who were judging him.
During the 16th century, the influence of the Flemish school of painting was key to the development of European art. At that time, Flemish painters established a stylistic model based on the search for reality, focusing on the rendering of the qualities of objects, giving special importance to secondary details and using a smooth, draughtsmanlike technique. In the 16th century, as a result of the introduction of the novelties of the Italian Renaissance, the Flemish style evolved towards a more classical and sculptural style, while retaining its own characteristics.