18th-century Dutch Flemish school – After Rembrandt Harmenszoon van Rijn

Private collection, France.

Inspired by Rembrandt, our painter borrows the broad outlines of a composition created for the print, which the master worked on over the course of eight states. It is perhaps the seventh version to which ours refers, characterised by the addition in the foreground of two arched openings separated by a relief bust of a man. 

Rembrandt may himself have been inspired by the Passion paintings displayed in public squares in the 17th century, or by some of his contemporaries such as Lucas van Leyden and Marcantonio Raimondi.

As the heir to these models, our painter does not hesitate to take liberties with the colour scheme, the arrangement of certain figures, or even the architecture. The richness of the palette and the opulence of the costumes almost seem to soften the dramatic aspect of this scene, which is, after all, the moment when Christ is judged and condemned.