The Passion: Christ before Caiaphas
1619
From the collection of Cleveland Museum of Art
1619
From the collection of Cleveland Museum of Art
This black-and-white print shows a tense scene with seven men indoors. One man in a halo stands in the center, gripping another man’s arm. The others surround them—some look angry, one holds a scroll, and another gestures sharply. The room has a draped curtain on the left and a chandelier hanging above. The man in the halo is likely the focus, but the artist uses sharp lines and deep shadows to make the emotions pop. The Latin text at the bottom hints this is a biblical story, but the real drama is in the body language. Next, look up chiaroscuro to see how this play of light and dark works in other art.
