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Ecce Homo
(Baroque Europe )
After he was taken prisoner by Roman soldiers in the Garden of Gethsemane of Jerusalem, Christ was brought before the people by the Roman govenor Pontius Pilate, who addressed the crowd: "'Look, I am bringing him out to you to let you know that I find no case against him.' So Jesus came out, wearing the crown of thorns and the purple robe. Pilate said to them, 'Here is the man!' [Ecce Homo]" (John 19:4-5). the Jewish crowd called for Christ to be executed and he was taken to Calvary and crucified.
Luca Giordano took pride in his ability to imitate the styles of others. In this work, he has drawn on the woodcuts of the German artist Albrecht Dürer (1471-1528) as demonstrated by the costumes and grimacing facial features of the crowd.
This painting is the companion to one of similar style showing Pilate Washing his Hands, now in the John G. Johnson collection in the Philadelphia Museum of Art (no. 29): the two pictures were separated only in 1900. There are also two paintings in the National Gallery in Naples (no. 84417 and 84408) that are old copies of the Walters panel and its companion in Philadelphia.
For more information on this panel, please see the essay by Morten Steen Hansen in Masterpieces of Italian Painting in the Walters art Museum, ed. by M. S. Hansen and J. Spicer (London: Giles Limited, for the Walters Art Museum, 2005), no. 41.
Inscription
Provenance
Provenance (from the French provenir, 'to come from/forth') is the chronology of the ownership, custody, or location of a historical object. Learn more about provenance at the Walters.
Earl of Dudley, London, prior to 1871 [mode of acquisition unknown]; Sale, Christie's, London, June 16, 1900, no. 14 [as H. Goltzius]; Ichenhauser, Munich, prior to 1900 [mode of acquisition unknown]; Henry Walters, Baltimore, prior to 1909 [mode of acquisition unknown]; Walters Art Museum, 1931, by bequest.
Exhibitions
| 2007-2008 | Déjà Vu? The Repeating Image in Renaissance and Baroque Art. The Walters Art Museum, Baltimore. |
| 1995-1996 | Going for Baroque. The Walters Art Gallery, Baltimore. |
| 1987-1992 | Artful Deception: The Craft of the Forger. The Walters Art Gallery, Baltimore; Edsel & Eleanor Ford House, Grosse Pointe Shores; Dallas Museum of Art, Dallas; Oklahoma City Museum of Art, Oklahoma City; Portland Museum of Art, Portland; The Fine Arts Center at Cheekwood, Nashville; Phoenix Art Museum, Phoenix; Columbia Museum of Art, Columbia; Crocker Art Museum, Sacramento; Elvehjem Museum of Art, Madison; Memorial Art Gallery of the University of Rochester, Rochester; The Barnum Museum, Bridgeport. |
| 1871 | [Exhibition title unknown, held at the Royal Academy]. Royal Academy of Arts, London. |
Conservation
| Date | Description | Narrative |
|---|---|---|
| Examination | examined for condition | |
| 7/14/1980 | Treatment | examined for condition |
| 8/5/1980 | Treatment | coated; inpainted; varnish removed or reduced |
| 12/30/1986 | Treatment | coated; inpainted |
Geographies
Italy, Naples (Place of Origin)
Measurements
Painted surface H: 17 3/4 x W: 27 7/16 x D: 1 1/8 in. (45.1 x 69.7 x 2.9 cm)
Credit Line
Acquired by Henry Walters, before 1909
Location in Museum
Accession Number
In libraries, galleries, museums, and archives, an accession number is a unique identifier assigned to each object in the collection.
In libraries, galleries, museums, and archives, an accession number is a unique identifier assigned to each object in the collection.
37.243