Follower of Rubens, Ecce Homo, 1700, Oil on Canvas

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Ecce homo - peter paul rubens (siegen 1577 - antwerp 1640) follower of

oil on canvas

123 x 103 cm. … Read more Ecce homo - peter paul rubens (siegen 1577 - antwerp 1640) follower of

oil on canvas

123 x 103 cm. - with antique frame (good condition, defects and small losses): 149 x 128 cm.

the composition immortalizes the moment of christ's passion in which pontius pilate, then roman governor of judea, presents the scourged jesus to the people of jerusalem, uttering the words "ecce homo" (literally, "behold the man") to curry favor with the crowd, knowing they had condemned an innocent man.

at the center of the canvas is the powerful figure of christ, whose proud face, devoid of any form of suffering, reveals an inner strength. A crown of thorns rests on his long hair, his hands bound and stripped of his clothing, and behind him stands an armored roman soldier raising a dramatic red drapery.

this is a valuable period copy attributed to a follower of rubens and is directly inspired by the famous prototype painted by the flemish master around 1612, one of his early masterpieces now housed in the hermitage museum in st. Petersburg (image 1).

the work immediately established itself as a reference model for baroque painting, sublimely blending flemish realism with the monumentality of greco-roman statuary, studied by rubens during his stay in italy (1600–1608).

in particular, to convey the anatomical power of christ's pose, rubens drew inspiration from the famous "centaur" in the villa borghese, echoing its idealized anatomy, the vigorous naked torso thrust forward and the hands tied behind the back, as evidenced by some drawings the master made during his visit to rome (images 2 and 3).

the work was an immediate success, spawning famous copies, workshop variations, and derivatives, all sought after by collectors of the time.

its widespread diffusion was further enhanced by the print by cornelis galle ii (1615–1678), which allowed rubens's drawing to circulate widely throughout europe, becoming the "primary source" from which many flemish and italian painters of the time drew their own pictorial copies (image 4).

among the most famous period versions are the one in the staatsgalerie im neuen schloss schleissheim (image 5 - https://rkd.nl/images/275207 ) and the one in the cultural heritage agency (netherlands), registered under inventory code b595, attributed to the master's circle or school, which attest to the composition's immediate diffusion in flanders. We can also mention the one in the rijksmuseum in amsterdam, historically linked to rubens's iconography (image 6 - https://rkd.nl/images/40088 ), created by the dutch painter woutherus mol (1785–1857).

also of a similar period, we can mention perhaps the most famous replica of our ecce homo, the one in the m leuven museum in belgium (image 7 - https://www.mleuven.be/collectie/ecce-homo-0), created by daniel seghers between 1612 and 1651. Seghers was one of the many painters commissioned by important royals, such as queen isabella of spain, to replicate and copy rubens' paintings.

additional information:

good condition. With antique frame (good condition, defects and small losses).

the work is sold complete with a certificate of authenticity and an iconographic . This piece is attributed to the mentioned designer/maker. It has no attribution mark and no
official proof of authenticity,
however it is well documented in design history. I take full responsibility for any authenticity



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