Christ Mocked
Artist / maker
James Ensor (etchers)Date
1886Period
19th centuryCollection
Museum of Fine Arts Ghent
"Christ Mocked" or "Christ as Ecce Homo" is considered to be Ensor's first etching. Since the Middle Ages, the theme has recurred regularly in art. Moreover, Ensor repeatedly took his inspiration from ancient art. Here the composition, the Orientalist figures and the lighting effects refer to Rembrandt. Gustave Doré's chiaroscuro was also an inspiration. Typologically, the work of Jacques Callot…
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"Christ Mocked" or "Christ as Ecce Homo" is considered to be Ensor's first etching. Since the Middle Ages, the theme has recurred regularly in art. Moreover, Ensor repeatedly took his inspiration from ancient art. Here the composition, the Orientalist figures and the lighting effects refer to Rembrandt. Gustave Doré's chiaroscuro was also an inspiration. Typologically, the work of Jacques Callot also served as a model, for example in the man on crutches and the soldier. On the other hand, the sculpted lion opposite Pontius Pilate (seated on the podium) refers to the etching "Chimaera", created in 1888 (inv. 1998-B-25). The etching is based on two drawings by Ensor from 1885 on the same theme (Düsseldorf, Kunstmuseum, inv. K. 1983-74; MSK Ghent, inv. 1988-C, part of the series "The Aureoles of Christ").
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