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Tuesday, March 26, 2024

The Third Sorrowful Mystery – The Crowning with Thorns


Caravaggio, Crowning with thorns
Italian, 1602
Vicenza, Banca Popolare di Vicenza




"And the soldiers wove a crown out of thorns and placed it on his head, and clothed him in a purple cloak, and they came to him and said, “Hail, King of the Jews!” And they struck him repeatedly."
(John 19:2-3)




It has always seemed to me that the decades of the Rosary are structured in a very defined way. Like the most important intervals in the musical scale, the first, third and fifth decades of each series of Mysteries have always seemed to focus on the most important of the scenes that they bring to memory. In the Joyful Mysteries the third is the Birth of Jesus. In the Glorious Mysteries the third is the Descent of the Holy Spirit (Pentecost). It seems, therefore, odd that the third of the Sorrowful Mysteries is not the Crucifixion, but the Crowning with Thorns. For example, I can easily imagine a scenario in which the Crucifixion is the third, followed by the Descent from the Cross and the Entombment.
 
 

But, on reflection, I realized that the traditional list of the Sorrowful Mysteries actually does make sense. The Crowning with Thorns has something very important to teach us. For, the cruel mockery devised by the Roman soldiers is the inversion and perversion of the actual truth. In their twisted way they demonstrate the reality they did not recognize. Jesus is a king, greater than any they could imagine. His kingdom, as he told Pilate, is not of this world and it is achieved, not through dealing out violence as a conqueror, but through receiving the violence of his tormentors; not through self-aggrandizement, but through humiliation; not through subjecting others but in subjecting His human will to the Father’s divine will. It is, therefore, indeed the pinnacle of the Sorrowful Mysteries, that makes sense of the two preceding mysteries and of the two that follow it.

The iconography of the subject of the crowning with thorns is related to three other subjects that I discussed in 2012: the Mocking of Christ, the Ecce Homo and the Man of Sorrows. All three of these subjects, however, look at Jesus following the crowning. Here I will look at some pictures that show the action of the crowning.


The earliest image of the Crowning with Thorns comes from a Roman sarcophagus from the cemetery of Domitilla.  Its depiction of the event is more symbolic than realistic.  It depicts a serene Christ standing at ease, while a Roman soldier holds the crown of thorns above his head.  

Sarcophagus with Scenes from the Passion of Christ
Roman, c. 350
Vatican City, Vatican Museums, Museo Pio-Cristiano


This serenity continued into the Middle Ages.  Early images were often static, showing Christ seated, while two soldiers are posed as if attempting to force the thorns more deeply into his head.  Often this is done by using long poles which the soldiers pull and push to drive the thorns in.  The use of poles instead of hands or shorter clubs emphasizes how dangerous and cruel these thorns were


Crowing with Thorns
From a Psalter
German (Magdeburg), c. 1265
Munich, Bayerisches Staatsbibliothek
MS Clm 23094, fol. 50v




Master Henri, The Crowning with Thorns
From Livre d'images de Madame Marie
Flemish (Hainaut), c. 1285-1290
Paris, Bibliotheque nationale de France
MS NAF 16251, fol. 35v



The Crowning with thorns
From Speculum humanae salvationis
France (Alsace), 1370-1380
Paris, Bibliotheque nationale de France
MS Latin 511, fol. 21v (detail)




The Crowning with Thorns
From Pelerinage du Jesu-Christ by Guillaume de Degulleville
French (Rennes), c. 1425-1450
Paris, Bibliotheque nationale de France
MS Francais 376, fol. 216r



The Crowning with Thorns
Austrian, c. 1395-1405
Heiligenkreuz (AT), Monastery Collection




The Crowning with Thorns
Austrian, c. 1465
Mühlbachl (AT), Pilgrimage Church of Maria Waldrest




However, beginning in the fourteenth century, the number of tormentors begins to increase, as does the level of violence.  Whereas, in the earlier compositions, the two tormentors were posed in a balanced arrangement, with one on each side and Jesus in the middle, now they are posed more unevenly.  One tormentor is frequently moved to stand or squat in front of Jesus.  The scene becomes one of the entire theme of the mocking of Christ than just the isolated event of the crowning with thorns.  


Giotto, The Mocking of Christ
Italian, c. 1304-1308
Padua, Scrovegni/Arena Chapel




Duccio, The Mocking of Christ
Italian, c. 1308-1311
Siena, Museo dell'Opera del Duomo




Master of the Vigilius Legend, The Mocking of Christ
Italian, c. 1395-1400
Sarnthein (IT), Church of Saint Cyprian




Christ Crowned with Thorns Before Caiaphas
From a Voyage d'outre mer by Sir John Mandeville
Czech, c. 1410-1420
London, British Library
MS Add. 24189, fol. 12r




The Mocking of Christ
Italian, c. 1464
Mellaun (IT), Church of Saint John the Evangelist





Master of the Freisinger Passion, The Crowning with Thorns
German, c. 1480-1490
Munich, Bayerische Staatsgemaeldesammlungen, Staatsgalerie in der Burg zu Burghausen





The Mocking of Christ
German, c. 1490-1510
Tirschenreuth (DE), Cathedral of the Assumption




Master of the Dresden Prayerbook, The Crowning with Thorns and the Ecce Homo
From the Breviary of Queen Isabella of Castille
Flemish, c. 1497
London, British Library
MS Additional 18851, fol. 103v



Over time, painters increased the amount of difference between the face of the suffering Christ and the brutal, even bestial faces of the soldiers.

Circle of Rueland Frueauf, The Crowning with Thorns
Austrian, c. 1500-1510
Regensburg, Museum der Stadt Regensburg


The Crowning with Thorns
German, c. 1500
Frankfurt-an-der-Oder, Church of Saint Gertuaud




Hans Holbein the Elder, The Mocking of Christ
From the Karlsheimer Altar
German, 1502
Munich, Bayerische Staatsgemaeldesammlunger, Alte Pinakothek



Hans Holbein the Elder, The Mocking of Christ
German, c. 1504
Augsburg, Staatsgalerie im Schaezler-Palais




Hans Schäufelin, The Mocking of Christ
German, c. 1506-1507
Berlin, Gemäldegalerie dere Staatlichen Museen zu Berlin



Hans Nagl, The Mocking of Christ
German, c. 1515-1525
Ingolstadt (DE), Church of Our Lady
The style in which this early 16th century painter has depicted the figures of Christ and the soldiers is an astonishing forshadowing of the style  of some early 20th century German Expressionists, in particular those who formed the group known as Die Brucke (The Bridge), such as Ernst Ludwig Kirchner, Karl Schmidt-Rotluff, Emil Nolde and others. *




Christ Crowned with Thorns
German, c. 1520
Institute of Material Culture of the Middle Ages and the Early Modern Period, Austria
CC BY-NC-ND.




Christ crowned with thorns
German, c. 1525-1530
Heldsdorf (RO), Church




Hans Schäufelin, The Mocking of Christ
German, c. 1525-1530
Augsburg, Staatsgalerie im Schäzler-Palais



Pierre Reymond, The Mocking of Christ
French (Limoges), c. 1535-1540
Los Angeles, Los Angeles County Museum of Art




Lambert van Noort, The Crowing with Thorns
Flemish, Mid-16th Century
Antwerp, Musée Royale des Beaux-Arts



Hans Mielich, The Mocking of Christ
German, c. 1530-1572
Ingolstadt (DE), Church of Our Lady



Jan Sadeler, The Mocking of Christ
Flemish, c. 1570-1590
Braunschweig (DE), Harzog Anton Ulrich Museum



Otto van Veen, The Mocking of Christ
Flemish, c. 1590-1629
Munich, Bayerische Staatsgemäldesammlungen, Staatsgalerie Neuburg




Beginning with the work of Hieronymous Bosch, the focus of the depictions of the Crowning with Thorns moved closer to the subject, closer to the figure of Jesus and of the faces of those who are torturing him.   Sometimes this focus could be very close indeed, giving the viewer a sense of participation as a witness to the event.



Hieronymus Bosch, The Mocking of Christ
Dutch, c. 1495-1500
El Escorial, Monasterio de San Lorenzo




Hieronymous Bosch, Christ Crowned with Thorns
Dutch, c. 1495-1500
London, National Gallery



However, the earliest of these images still retain something of the static quality of the medieval images.  They are more representations of cruelty and pain, than accurate pictures of these emotions.




Titian appears to have revised this, as he revised so many other images. In his several images of the crowning he introduces, through effects of light and shadow and motion, recognition of the pain that this act must have caused and of the violence of the attack.


Titian, The Crowning with thorns
Italian, 1542
Paris, Musée du
 Louvre



Titian, The Crowning with thorns
Italian, c. 1572-1576
Munich, Bayerische Staatsgemäldesammlungen, Alte Pinakotek





These elements were picked up on by his younger north Italian compatriot, Caravaggio and, through his followers, to the greater European context. 


Caravaggio or a Follower, The Crowning with thorns
Italian, c. 1602-1603
Vienna, Kunsthistorisches Museum





Bartolomeo Manfredi, The Crowning with Thorns
Italian, c. 1600-1622
Munich, Bayerische Staatsgemaeldesammlungen, Staatsgalerie im Neuen Schleissheim





Artists who followed the shadowy style set by Caravaggio, who were called the Caravaggisti, began to use their shadowy compositions to study the effect of light in darkness.  The subject of  Christ's tortures, which took place at night, was an especially appropriate one to use to experiment with the effects of artificial light on the human and inanimate forms in their depictions.  This was especially true of artists from northern Europe.  





Leonello Spada, The Mocking of Christ
Italian, c. 1615
Rome, Palazzo Barberini




Valentin de Boulogn, The Mocking of Christ
French, c. 1616-1617
Munich, Bayerische Staatsgemaeldesammlungen, Alte Pinakothek





Anthony van Dyck, The Crowning with thorns
Flemish, c. 1618-1620
Rome, Galleria Corsini





Anthony van Dyck, The Crowning with thorns
Flemish, c. 1618-1620
Madrid, Museo Nacional del Prado






Hendrick Terbrugghen, The Mocking of Christ
Dutch, 1620
Copenhagen, Statens Museum for Kunst



Gerrit van Honthorst, Christ Crowned with Thorns
Dutch, c. 1620
Los Angeles, J. Paul Getty Museum





Valentin de Boulogne, The Crowning with thorns
French, c. 1627-1628
Munich, Bayerische Staatsgemäldesammlungen, Alte Pinakotek







Jan Willem Janssens
Flemish, c. 1650
Ghent, Museum voor Schone Kunsten




Jan Willem Janssens, The Mocking of Christ
Flemish, c. 1650
Toilouse, Musée des Augustins




Samuel van Hoogstraten, Christ Crowned with Thorns
Dutch, 1657
Munich, Bayerische Staatgemäldesammlungen, Alte Pinakothek





David Teniers the Younger, The Mocking of Christ
Flemish, c. 1660-1690
Munich, Bayerische Staatgemäldesammlungen, Staatsgalerie Neuburg





Jacob van Oost the Elder,The Mocking of Christ
Flemish, 1661
Bruges, Groeninge Museum




Carlo Antonio Bussi, The Mocking of Christ
Italian, 1690
Voecklabruck (AT), Church of Saint Agidius



Francesco Trevisani, The Mocking of Christ
Italian, c. 1696
Rome, Galleria Colonna




It was this heightened, emotionally charged image that continued to be transmitted within European art, down to the end of the nineteenth century and into the twentieth.




James Tissot, The Crowning with Thorns
French, c. 1886-1894
New York, Brooklyn Museum



Emil Nolde, The Mocking of Christ
German, 1909
Berlin, Brucke-Museum




Georges Rouault, Christ Mocked by Soldiers
French, 1932
New York, Museum of Modern Art
© 2024 Artists Rights Society (ARS), New York- ADAGP, Paris





 
Otto Dix, The Mocking of Christ
From Das Evangelium nach Matthäus
German, 1960
Private Collection





© M. Duffy, 2013.  Revised and expanded, with additional images 2024.


*  Some examples for the similarity of style that come to mind are:

Ernst Ludwig Kirchner


Ernst Ludwig Kirchner, The Street, Dresden
German, 1908
New York, Museum of Modern Art



Emil Nolde


Emil Nolde, The Crucifixion
German, 1912
Neukirchen, Stiftung Seebull Ada and Emil Nolde




Karl Schmidt-Rottluff, Kristus (Christ)
German, 1919
New Haven, Yale University Art Gallery


One could make a case that the flattened, jagged forms in German Expressionism are only a more recent occurrence of forms that are native to German art, jazzed up with some quotations from African art like those in some of the early works of Picasso.  

Scripture texts in this work are taken from the New American Bible, revised edition © 2010, 1991, 1986, 1970 Confraternity of Christian Doctrine, Washington, D.C. and are used by permission of the copyright owner. All Rights Reserved. No part of the New American Bible may be reproduced in any form without permission in writing from the copyright owner.




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