Cleveland Museum of Art

The Passion: Christ Before Pilate

Martin Schongauer

Date

c. 1480

Medium

engraving

Culture

Germany

Department

Prints

Institution

Cleveland Museum of Art

Martin Schongauer'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 composition. Here, Christ is led before Pontius Pilate. The Roman governor washes his hands in water which a servant is pouring from a ewer into a basin. Right after, he orders Christ's crucifixion. The dog in this scene likely refers to late medieval Passion literature, which often compared Christ's tormentors to dogs.

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