Cleveland Museum of Art

Christ Crowned with Thorns

Martin Schongauer

Date

1470–82

Medium

engraving

Culture

Germany

Department

Prints

Institution

Cleveland Museum of Art

Martin Schonaguer's series of the Passion of Christ was his largest set of engravings, made around 1480, and extensively copied across Europe. It consists of twelve prints detailing the suffering of Christ in the last days of his life. Schongauer's version focuses on crowded scenes, grotesque physiognomies of Christ's tormentors, and great pathos in the compositions. Here, Jesus is seated on a wooden bench, dressed in a robe and wearing the crown of thorns. His tormentors, including a child, are mocking him and place a reed scepter in his hands. On the left, behind Christ's tormentors, Pontius Pilate makes his first appearance in Schongauer's cycle of the Passion.

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