Caravaggista school; 17th century."Ecce homo".Oil on canvas. Relined.It presents restorations and

Caravaggista school; 17th century.
"Ecce homo".
Oil on canvas. Relined.
It presents restorations and repainting.
Measurements: 133 x 100 cm; 159 x 125 cm (frame).
In this devotional canvas, probably painted for an altar or a private chapel, the theme of the Ecce Homo is represented, very common in this type of paintings. The simple, clear composition, with the body of Christ in the foreground, and the absence of narrative details adds to the expressive power and pathos, designed to move the soul of the faithful who pray before the image, within a sense of tremendism that is very typical of the Baroque period in Catholic countries. The theme of Ecce Homo belongs to the Passion cycle and precedes the episode of the Crucifixion. Following this iconography, Jesus is presented at the moment when the soldiers have crowned him with thorns, in addition to dressing him in a purple tunic (here red, the symbolic colour of the Passion) and placing a reed in his hand (which is not visible in the present composition), kneeling down and exclaiming "Hail, King of the Jews! The words "Ecce Homo" are those pronounced by Pilate when presenting Christ to the crowd; their translation is "behold the man", a phrase by which he mocks Jesus and implies that Christ's power was not such in comparison with that of the rulers who were judging him. The piece is completed by the presence of a character who contemplates Christ; this character is presented in a veiled manner, without taking away the prominence of the divine image.
Stylistically, the work shows a clear influence of Caravaggio and the followers of his style: the theatrical use of a powerful spotlight, the combination of this strong lighting with areas of darkness, the use of diagonals, the use of models inspired by the common people (although without the extraordinary realism of the Italian master in the present work due to a greater degree of idealisation of the faces), etc. Michelangelo Merisi da Caravaggio, known as Caravaggio, was an Italian painter active in Rome, Naples, Malta and Sicily between 1593 and 1610. His painting combines a realistic observation of the human figure, both physical and emotional, with a dramatic use of light, which had a decisive influence on the formation of Baroque painting. Caravaggio depicted close anatomical observation with a dramatic use of chiaroscuro that came to be known as tenebrism. This technique became a dominant stylistic element, darkening shadows and transfiguring objects into brilliant beams of light. He vividly expressed crucial moments and scenes, often involving violent struggle, torture and death. He worked quickly with models from life, dispensing with sketches to work directly on canvas. His influence was profound on the new Baroque style that emerged from Mannerism and can be traced in the works of great masters such as Pedro Pablo Rubens, José de Ribera, Rembrandt and Diego Velázquez, as well as in countless artists of the following generation, who because they manifested his profound influence were called "Caravaggists" or "Tenebrists".