Ecce Homo - continued

Centre image we see Jesus, wearing a red cloak and carrying a crown of thorns on his head and a reed in his hand. Blood is dripping from his head, his tilted head and downward gaze indicate his suffering but are in contrast with his young and healthy body. On his right Pilate stretches his hand out to show the people Jezus, behind him one of his servants. On Jesus’ left stands a guard supporting a 17th century Italian suit of armour. The heads of the figures are roughly in the same plane, the facial depictions point at a eastern origin but lack expression.

Of this kind of Ecce Homo depiction exist several other versions by Michael Coxie II (1569/1589 – 1618) and Ambrosius Francken the elder (c. 1544 – 1618) and the younger (c. 1581 – 1632). Therefore we suspect the origin of our Ecce Homo to be Flemish and probably made sometime around the turn of the 16th century. We believe however that the origin of this image is not from the Southern Netherlands but Venetian. A print by Rafael Sadeler in the collection of the Leids Prentenkabinet shows a similar depiction of the Ecce Homo. The print is made after a painting of Jacopo Ligozzi. Ligozzi (1547-1624) who was an Italian painter of considerable stature, working for both the Habsburg court of Rudolf II and the Medici family in Florence. Rafael Sadeler and Jacopo Ligozzi might be linked through Rafael’s uncle Aegidius Sadeler who was engaged to the court of Rudolf II as an engraver.

The Ecce Homo print is dated 1598 and measures 221 x 190 mm. Compared to the painting the similarity is obvious, some details might differ but both the depiction and the size agree. One remarkable difference is the presence on the print of a fifth figure between Jesus and the soldier. After careful examination of photographs, made before the last cleaning of the painting, the conclusion was drawn that this figure was at one time present in the painting but disappeared during a previous restoration of the background. Copying paintings and prints was common use in the 16th and 17th century, this Ecce Homo is a good example of this practise.