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Diptych with the Passion of Christ (left wing):Flagellation and Christ Before Pilate

Unknown

1400

unspecified

From the collection of Cleveland Museum of Art

Byzantine icon painting Renaissance Religious Styria

Dominant colour

Diptych with the Passion of Christ (left wing):Flagellation and Christ Before Pilate is a 1400 unspecified by Unknown, a Byzantine icon painting work, depicting Styria, held at Cleveland Museum of Art.

Who painted this?: Unknown
When & what style?: 1400 · Byzantine icon painting
Where can I see it?: Cleveland Museum of Art

About this work

You see two small wooden panels hinged like a book. On the left, soldiers whip Jesus and press a crown of thorns onto his head. On the right, Pilate washes his hands while Jesus stands bound. This painting was made to fold up and travel. A person could carry it, open it like a prayer book, and kneel anywhere to think about Christ’s suffering. The bright colors and gold leaf would have caught candlelight in a dark room. Look up more works from austria, styria, 15th century to see how other artists painted devotion.

The story of this work

Overview

This diptych, or two-panel painting, is hinged at the center so that it could be opened and closed and easily transported. It was clearly designed as an object for private devotion. The owner would have been able to contemplate the Passion of Christ and pray before these scenes. The top two images depict Christ’s scourging at the pillar and the crowning of thorns, while the lower two show Jesus before Pontius Pilate and in the Garden of Gethsemane. The scenes would have been read clockwise beginning with the lower right. On the back of these panels are remnants of paintings that have since…

Read the full account in the museum source.