Antonio Ciseri

Ecce Homo, 1871–91, Oil on canvas, 292 x 380 cm, Galleria dell'Arte Moderna, Palazzo Pitti, Florence; ©️ Alinari Archives / Raffaello Bencini / Art Resource, NY

What Do We Behold?

Commentary by Amanda M. Burritt

Cite Share

Antonio Ciseri’s Ecce Homo (Behold the Man) depicts the moment when Pilate presents Jesus to the crowd who will apparently decide his fate (John 19:5; Matthew 27:15–17). As viewers, we see much of what Jesus sees; we are behind him, looking out from the balcony as he does.

The dramatic composition recalls a theatrical set in which costumes, architecture, and dramatic gestures represent the authority of Rome. Symbols of power are everywhere: in the monumental columns; the throne chair over which is draped the skin of a cheetah; the military standard and the uniformed guards; the togas of the men and the elegant drapery of the women. This physical power and imposing grandeur contrasts with the half-naked, human body of Jesus which is about to be beaten and broken.

When Ciseri painted this work in the second half of the nineteenth century, Europe was witnessing profound intellectual challenges to long-held beliefs. For instance, controversial literary works sought to reveal the truth of the historical Jesus (Ciseri’s depiction was influenced by Ernest Renan’s Vie de Jesus (1863), which denied Jesus’s divinity). Truth was sought in radical scientific theories and in the evidence of material culture revealed by archaeologists. In seeking to evoke a powerful historical context, Ciseri includes the Roman Column of Antoninus Pius and monumental structures evoking Egyptian architecture.

The crowd is invited to come and see Jesus (John 1:46) but what do they see? They see the power of Rome; they do not perceive the power of God. Pilate’s wife turns away; hers is the only face in the composition that is turned in our direction. We do not properly see the face of Jesus or of Pilate.

Pilate’s wife does not support what is happening to ‘that innocent man’. Paradoxically, her not looking evidences the fact that she has, in a dream, seen more than the others (Matthew 27:19). Truth is revealed to her through a medium beyond the physical, a truth those who are physically present cannot discern. To truly see Jesus is to see the connection between heaven and earth (John 1:51).

 

References

Video. ‘The monumental “Ecce Homo” by Antonio Ciseri’, www.uffizi.it, available at https://www.uffizi.it/en/video/the-monumental-ecce-homo-by-antonio-ciseri [accessed 3 October 2024]

See full exhibition for John 1:40–51

John 1:40–51

Revised Standard Version

40One of the two who heard John speak, and followed him, was Andrew, Simon Peter’s brother. 41He first found his brother Simon, and said to him, “We have found the Messiah” (which means Christ). 42He brought him to Jesus. Jesus looked at him, and said, “So you are Simon the son of John? You shall be called Cephas” (which means Peter).

43 The next day Jesus decided to go to Galilee. And he found Philip and said to him, “Follow me.” 44Now Philip was from Beth-saʹida, the city of Andrew and Peter. 45Philip found Nathanʹa-el, and said to him, “We have found him of whom Moses in the law and also the prophets wrote, Jesus of Nazareth, the son of Joseph.” 46Nathanʹa-el said to him, “Can anything good come out of Nazareth?” Philip said to him, “Come and see.” 47Jesus saw Nathanʹa-el coming to him, and said of him, “Behold, an Israelite indeed, in whom is no guile!” 48Nathanʹa-el said to him, “How do you know me?” Jesus answered him, “Before Philip called you, when you were under the fig tree, I saw you.” 49Nathanʹa-el answered him, “Rabbi, you are the Son of God! You are the King of Israel!” 50Jesus answered him, “Because I said to you, I saw you under the fig tree, do you believe? You shall see greater things than these.” 51And he said to him, “Truly, truly, I say to you, you will see heaven opened, and the angels of God ascending and descending upon the Son of man.”

More Exhibitions