Mocking of Christ

The drawing depicts an episode from the Passion of Christ when Roman soldiers mockingly crown him (Mark 5:17, Matthew 27:28–29). Standing behind Jesus, a legionnaire presses the crown of thorns into his head, piercing and tearing his skin, as another man forces a staff into his hand while threateningly raising a club. The brutality of the soldier’s actions is in stark contrast with Jesus’s behavior, who silently endures the torture and humiliation. His body, bathed in the light emanating from the torch of a soldier, reveals no sign of the agonizing pain. Created by the Bavarian artist Caspar Freisinger, the drawing features figures rendered in a highly painterly manner in brown wash and white gouache, with only some of the contours reinforced. The squaring in black chalk suggests that the drawing likely served as preparation for a painting that no longer survives.