1865
oil
canvas
From the collection of Art Institute of Chicago
Jesus Mocked by the Soldiers is a 1865 oil by Edouard Manet, a Impressionism work, held at Art Institute of Chicago.
You see a dark room where soldiers crowd around Jesus, pressing a crown of thorns onto his head. Most artists in 1865 painted modern life, not Bible scenes. Manet chose this old subject but painted it like a street fight—rough brushstrokes, no halos, just men in shadows. The crowd feels real, not holy. Look up *chiaroscuro* to see how light and dark shape the scene.
Throughout his career Édouard Manet managed to shock and confound the public with his bold technique and unorthodox approach to subject matter. The most startling feature of this painting is that he painted it at all. Following the advent of the Realist movement, which grounded art in the here and now, avant-garde artists in France did not pursue religious themes. While Manet was primarily a painter of secular subjects, he was also interested in art history, which led him on at least two occasions to depict the biblical narratives that had compelled artists for many centuries. This work might…
Estate of the artist, Paris, 1883 [the inventory lists the painting as no. 17 as Le Christ insulté par les soldats]; by descent to Léon Leenhoff, Paris, 1883; sold to Boussod et Valadon, Paris, May 31, 1893, for 3,500 francs [this and the following per dealer’s stock book 13, no. 23074, as Les Christ insulté par les Soldats, published online at http://www.getty.edu/research/tools/digital_collections/goupil_cie/books.html]; sold to Jean-Baptiste Faure (d. 1914), Paris, April 14, 1894, for 8,000 francs; partially sold to Durand-Ruel, Paris, April 17, 1894 [per Durand-Ruel, Paris, stock book…
Paris, Salon, 1865, cat. 1427 Paris, Pavillon de l’Alma, Manet Exposition Particuliére, 1867, cat. 6. New York, Durand-Ruel Galleries, Exposition of Paintings by Edouard Manet, March 1895, cat. 9. New York, Albright Art Gallery, French Impressionists Exhibition, 1907. The Art Institute of Chicago, A Century of Progress Exhibition of Paintings and Sculpture, 1933, cat. 327, pl. 56. The Art Institute of Chicago, A Century of Progress Exhibition of Paintings and Sculpture, 1934, cat. 247. Philadelphia Museum of Art, Manet and Renoir, November 1933–January 1934. Baltimore Museum of Art, A Survey…
Read the full account in the museum source.
Édouard Manet didn’t have much time to make his mark—he died at 51—but he used every year.
See the richer artist pageYour cart is empty
Explore artworks →
