Christ Crowned with Thorns

The provenance of this Crown of Thorns, which was only recorded in the collection of the Museum of Fine Arts in Ghent in 1929, is unknown. The painting depicts a group of people around a 'Man of Sorrows'. The basic model for this painting is Caravaggio's Crown of Thorns, which is kept in the Kunsthistorisches Museum in Vienna. Like most…

The provenance of this Crown of Thorns, which was only recorded in the collection of the Museum of Fine Arts in Ghent in 1929, is unknown. The painting depicts a group of people around a 'Man of Sorrows'. The basic model for this painting is Caravaggio's Crown of Thorns, which is kept in the Kunsthistorisches Museum in Vienna. Like most Caravaggio painters, Janssens is more indebted to Bartolomeo Manfredi's vision of Caravaggio's work. The Utrecht painters, such as Dirk van Baburen, took up the model and contributed to its dissemination. Even though he draws inspiration from these models, Janssens here makes use of a compact composition, which is very characteristic of the Italian masters. The Christ in the centre is mocked and abused by characters who, however, remain at a certain distance from him. Janssens remains true to the Caravaggesque tradition of the play of light, however. The scene here seems to be lit by a brazier held by the adolescent on the left, at the end of a long stick. This fire does indeed light up the heads of the two executioners on the right. Nevertheless, another source of light on the left side, outside the panel, illuminates the face and torso of Christ.