Christ Crowned with Thorns (Bosch, El Escorial)

Last updated
Christ Crowned with Thorns
Crowned with Thorns Bosch.jpg
Artistfollower of Hieronymus Bosch
Year1530s
MediumOil on oak panel
Dimensions165 cm× 195 cm(65 in× 77 in)
Location El Escorial, Escorial

Christ Crowned with Thorns is an oil on panel painting made in the 1530s by a follower of Hieronymus Bosch. It is now in the Monasterio de San Lorenzo at El Escorial, near Madrid, in Spain. [1]

The work is painted on a rectangular oak panel and measures 157 cm × 194 cm (62 in × 76 in). The main scene is set in a circular tondo with a gold background, surrounded by a grisaille painting of a battle between angels and demons.

It is an elaborated version of another Bosch's composition of the same subject, Christ Crowned with Thorns , held by the National Gallery, London, combining two events from Biblical account of the Passion of Jesus: the Mocking of Jesus and the Crowning with Thorns. As with the London version, this composition is centred on a half-length Jesus with a calm expression, accompanied by several other men, in this case, five others. The man to the far left, with a sceptre depicting Moses, is often identified as the High Priest Caiaphas, with the four others around Jesus interpreted as men obeying his orders. The calm expression of Jesus contrasts with the caricatured faces of the other men.

The painting was in the collection of Philip II of Spain by 1593. It may have been owned by Fernando de Toledo, former Viceroy of Catalonia, who fought in the Spanish Netherlands under his father Fernando Álvarez de Toledo, 3rd Duke of Alba.

It was formerly attributed to Bosch, but dendrochronological analysis of the panel in 2001 gave a date of the 1530s (or later), several years after Bosch's death in 1516, and it has been reattributed to a follower of Bosch, possibly Marinus van Reymerswaele. The version in London is securely attributed to Bosch.

The Prado holds a painting of the head of the man with a crossbow bolt through his hat.

The scene is similar to the central panel of the Passion Triptych  [ fr; nl ] in the Museu de Belles Arts de Valencia, circa 1530-1540, another painting by a follower of Bosch. The Christ Crowned with Thorns with Donor  [ nl ] in the Royal Museum of Fine Arts Antwerp is also similar in composition but different in style. [2] There are other examples by followers of Bosch in the Philadelphia Museum of Art, [3] and the Kunstmuseum Bern, [4] which are probably based on a second painting of the subject by Bosch which is now lost.

Related Research Articles

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Hieronymus Bosch</span> Dutch painter (c. 1450 – 1516)

Hieronymus Bosch was a Dutch/Netherlandish painter from Brabant. He is one of the most notable representatives of the Early Netherlandish painting school. His work, generally oil on oak wood, mainly contains fantastic illustrations of religious concepts and narratives. Within his lifetime his work was collected in the Netherlands, Austria, and Spain, and widely copied, especially his macabre and nightmarish depictions of hell.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Adoration of the Magi</span> Worship of the Infant Jesus by Magi in art

The Adoration of the Magi or Adoration of the Kings is the name traditionally given to the subject in the Nativity of Jesus in art in which the three Magi, represented as kings, especially in the West, having found Jesus by following a star, lay before him gifts of gold, frankincense, and myrrh, and worship him. It is related in the Bible by Matthew 2:11: "On entering the house, they saw the child with Mary his mother; and they knelt down and paid him homage. Then, opening their treasure chests, they offered him gifts of gold, frankincense, and myrrh. And having been warned in a dream not to return to Herod, they left for their own country by another path".

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Adriaen Isenbrandt</span> Early Netherlandish painter

Adriaen Isenbrandt or Adriaen Ysenbrandt was a painter in Bruges, in the final years of Early Netherlandish painting, and the first of the Dutch and Flemish Renaissance painting of the Northern Renaissance. Documentary evidence suggests he was a significant and successful artist of his period, even though no specific works by his hand are clearly documented. Art historians have conjectured that he operated a large workshop specializing in religious subjects and devotional paintings, which were executed in a conservative style in the tradition of the Early Netherlandish painting of the previous century. By his time, the new booming economy of Antwerp had made this the centre of painting in the Low Countries, but the previous centre of Bruges retained considerable prestige.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Bernard van Orley</span> Flemish artist

Bernard van Orley, also called Barend or Barent van Orley, Bernaert van Orley or Barend van Brussel, was a versatile Flemish artist and representative of Dutch and Flemish Renaissance painting, who was equally active as a designer of tapestries and, at the end of his life, stained glass. Although he never visited Italy, he belongs to the group of Italianizing Flemish painters called the Romanists, who were influenced by Italian Renaissance painting, in his case especially by Raphael.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Dieric Bouts</span> 15th-century Dutch painter

Dieric Bouts was an Early Netherlandish painter. Bouts may have studied under Rogier van der Weyden, and his work was influenced by van der Weyden and Jan van Eyck. He worked in Leuven from 1457 until his death in 1475.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">National Museum of Ancient Art</span> Art Museum in Lisbon, Portugal

The Museu Nacional de Arte Antiga, also known in English as the National Museum of Ancient Art, is a Portuguese national art museum located in Lisbon. With over 40,000 items spanning a vast collection of painting, sculpture, goldware, furniture, textiles, ceramics, and prints, MNAA is one of the most visited museums in Portugal.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Joos van Cleve</span>

Joos van Cleve was a leading painter active in Antwerp from his arrival there around 1511 until his death in 1540 or 1541. Within Dutch and Flemish Renaissance painting, he combines the traditional techniques of Early Netherlandish painting with influences of more contemporary Renaissance painting styles.

<i>Adoration of the Magi</i> (Bosch, Madrid) Triptych by Hieronymus Bosch

The Adoration of the Magi or The Epiphany is a triptych oil painting on wood panel by the Netherlandish artist Hieronymus Bosch, executed around 1485–1500. It is housed in the Museo del Prado of Madrid, Spain.

<i>Christ Carrying the Cross</i> (Bosch, Ghent) Painting by a follower of Hieronymus Bosch

Christ Carrying the Cross is a painting attributed to a follower of Hieronymus Bosch. It was painted in the early 16th century, presumably between 1500 and 1535. The work is housed in the Museum of Fine Arts in Ghent, Belgium. The painting is notable for its use of caricature to provide grotesque-looking faces surrounding Jesus.

<i>Christ Crowned with Thorns</i> (Bosch, London) Painting by Hieronymus Bosch

Christ Crowned with Thorns, sometimes known as Christ Mocked, is an oil on panel painting by Hieronymus Bosch. It is held in the National Gallery in London, which dates it to around 1510, though some art historians prefer earlier dates.

<i>The Temptation of St Anthony</i> (Bosch) Painting by Hieronymus Bosch or by a follower

The Temptation of St. Anthony is a painting of disputed authorship, attributed to either Hieronymus Bosch or a follower. It is now in the Museo del Prado, in Madrid.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Master of the Morrison Triptych</span>

The Master of the Morrison Triptych is the name given to an unknown Early Netherlandish painter active in Antwerp around 1500-1510. He is named for the Morrison Triptych, now in Toledo, Ohio, United States, which is described below.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Master of Frankfurt</span>

The Master of Frankfurt was a Flemish Renaissance painter active in Antwerp between about 1480 and 1520. Although he probably never visited Frankfurt am Main, his name derives from two paintings commissioned from patrons in that city, the Holy Kinship in the Frankfurt Historical Museum and a Crucifixion in the Städel museum.

<i>Triptych of the Temptation of St. Anthony</i> 1501 painting by Hieronymus Bosch

The Triptych of Temptation of St. Anthony is an oil painting on wood panels by the Early Netherlandish painter Hieronymus Bosch, dating from around 1501. The work portrays the mental and spiritual torments endured by Saint Anthony the Great, one of the most prominent of the Desert Fathers of Egypt in the late 3rd and early 4th centuries. The Temptation of St. Anthony was a popular subject in Medieval and Renaissance art. In common with many of Bosch's works, the triptych contains much fantastic imagery. The painting hangs in the Museu Nacional de Arte Antiga in Lisbon.

<i>Pietà</i> (van der Weyden)

Pietà is a painting by the Flemish artist Rogier van der Weyden dating from about 1441 held in the Royal Museums of Fine Arts of Belgium, Brussels. There are number of workshop versions and copies, notably in the National Gallery, London, in the Prado, Madrid, and in the Manzoni Collection, Naples. Infrared and X-radiograph evidence suggest that the Brussels version was painted by van der Weyden himself, not necessarily excluding the help of workshop assistants. Dendrochronological analysis gives a felling date of 1431 for the oak panel backing, supporting the dating of the painting to around 1441.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Exposition des primitifs flamands à Bruges</span> Art exhibition of Early Netherlandish Painting in 1902

The Exposition des primitifs flamands à Bruges was an art exhibition of paintings by the so-called Flemish Primitives held in the Provinciaal Hof in Bruges between 15 June and 5 October 1902.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Master of the Legend of Saint Catherine</span>

The Master of the Legend of Saint Catherine is the Notname for an unknown late 15th century Early Netherlandish painter. He was named after a painting with Scenes from the Legend of Saint Catherine, now kept in the Royal Museums of Fine Arts of Belgium. He was active between c. 1470 and c. 1500, probably around Brussels.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Master of the Lille Adoration</span> Early Netherlandish painter

The Master of the Lille Adoration, was an Early Netherlandish painter active in Antwerp, as one of the Antwerp Mannerists. He was first suggested as a distinct but unknown figure in 1995 in an article by Ellen Konowitz, a proposal which has been widely accepted. In 2014, Christie's gave his dates as "active Antwerp by c. 1523/35".

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Jan van Wechelen</span> Flemish painter

Jan van Wechelen or Hans van Wechelen was a Flemish painter and draughtsman active in Antwerp in the middle of the 16th century known for his landscapes, biblical subjects and genre scenes.

References