Master of the Bruges Passion Scenes, 'Christ presented to the People', about 1510
About the work
Overview
Several episodes of the story of the Passion (Christ’s torture and crucifixion) are packed into this busy painting. The narrative begins in the background on the left, where Christ is scourged. In the next scene he has been crowned with thorns and dressed in a purple (now blue) robe; he holds a reed in his right hand and is mocked by the soldiers.
In the foreground, the Roman governor Pontius Pilate leads Christ out and says ‘Ecce Homo’ (‘Behold the man’). On seeing him, the chief priests and officers called for Christ’s crucifixion; Pilate replied, ‘Take ye him and crucify him: for I find no fault in him’ (John 19: 6). The foremost figures are presumably the chief priests, with the ‘officers’ behind them.
We don't know the identity of the painter, but he was an eclectic artist, borrowing whole scenes and individual figures from other artists, among them Martin Schongauer, Hans Memling and Albrecht Dürer.
Key facts
Details
- Full title
- Christ presented to the People
- Artist dates
- active early 16th century
- Date made
- about 1510
- Medium and support
- oil on wood
- Dimensions
- 93.4 × 41.5 cm
- Inscription summary
- Inscribed
- Acquisition credit
- Bequeathed by Mrs Joseph H. Green, 1880
- Inventory number
- NG1087
- Location
- Not on display
- Collection
- Main Collection
- Previous owners
Provenance
Additional information
Text extracted from the ‘Provenance’ section of the catalogue entry in Lorne Campbell, ‘National Gallery Catalogues: The Fifteenth Century Netherlandish Schools’, London 1998; for further information, see the full catalogue entry.
Exhibition history
-
2010Jan Gossaert's RenaissanceThe National Gallery (London)23 February 2011 - 30 May 2011
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2021The Credit Suisse Exhibition: Dürer's Journeys: Travels of a Renaissance ArtistThe National Gallery (London)20 November 2021 - 27 February 2022
Bibliography
-
1945Davies, Martin, National Gallery Catalogues: Early Netherlandish School, London 1945
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1953M. Davies, The National Gallery, London, Les Primitifs flamands. I, Corpus de la peinture des anciens Pay-Bas méridionaux au quinzième siècle 3, 2 vols, Antwerp 1953
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1955Davies, Martin, National Gallery Catalogues: Early Netherlandish School, 2nd edn (revised), London 1955
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1967M.J. Friedländer, Early Netherlandish Painting, eds N. Veronée-Verhaegen and H. Pauwels, trans. H. Norden, 14 vols, Leiden 1967
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1987Davies, Martin, National Gallery Catalogues: The Early Netherlandish School, 3rd edn, London 1987
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1998Campbell, Lorne, National Gallery Catalogues: The Fifteenth Century Netherlandish Paintings, London 1998
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2001
C. Baker and T. Henry, The National Gallery: Complete Illustrated Catalogue, London 2001
About this record
If you know more about this painting or have spotted an error, please contact us. Please note that exhibition histories are listed from 2009 onwards. Bibliographies may not be complete; more comprehensive information is available in the National Gallery Library.