Jésus insulté par les soldats (1865)

Manet, Édouard (1832-1883)

Jésus insulté par les soldats (Jesus Mocked by the Soldiers)
1865
Oil on canvas, 190.8 × 148.3 cm
Art Institute of ChicagoChicago

For this monumental painting, Édouard Manet depicted Jesus Christ at the end of his life, beaten and awaiting crucifixion. He wears a crown of thorns that mocks him as “King of the Jews,” while the guards hand him a reed “scepter” and drape him in a purple cloak. Manet, who painted very few religious subjects, transformed this sacred narrative into a gritty drama that marries realism with theatricality. Shown without a halo, Jesus glows against the dark background. Is he a holy being emanating divine light or a real man posing under a studio spotlight? The painting caused a scandal in its own time for precisely this ambiguity. (AIC)