Christ before Pilate

Prints and Drawings

1500/05

Giovanni Antonio da Brescia
Italian, c. 1460-1520

Giovanni Antonio da Brescia’s unusually large engraving Christ before Pilate recalls relief sculptures from the sides of Roman sarcophagi. The darkly crosshatched background creates a shallow depth of field and unifies the figural frieze. Pilate’s elevated placement and pointing finger emphasize his authoritative demeanor. The biblical text beneath his seat proclaims his unrealized intention to set Christ free; indeed, his captive’s foot seems to emerge from the picture plane. Da Brescia placed the line of sight below the horizon, creating the illusion of looking up for the viewer and thus increasing the image’s sense of monumentality.

Status: Currently Off View
Department: Prints and Drawings

Artist: Giovanni Antonio da Brescia
Title: Christ before Pilate
Place: Italy (Artist's nationality:)
Date Dates are not always precisely known, but the Art Institute strives to present this information as consistently and legibly as possible. Dates may be represented as a range that spans decades, centuries, dynasties, or periods and may include qualifiers such as c. (circa) or BCE.: 1500–1505
Medium: Engraving on paper
Dimensions: 29.1 × 31.4 cm (11 1/2 × 12 3/8 in.)
Credit Line: Bequest of Mrs. Potter Palmer, Jr.
Reference Number: 1956.984
IIIF Manifest The International Image Interoperability Framework (IIIF) represents a set of open standards that enables rich access to digital media from libraries, archives, museums, and other cultural institutions around the world. Learn more.: https://api.artic.edu/api/v1/artworks/4206/manifest.json

Hind V.64.6

Bartsch XIII.296.2

Passavant V.80.2

Bartsch, illustrated 2511.005

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Artist

Title

Place

Date Dates are not always precisely known, but the Art Institute strives to present this information as consistently and legibly as possible. Dates may be represented as a range that spans decades, centuries, dynasties, or periods and may include qualifiers such as c. (circa) or BCE.

Medium

Dimensions

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IIIF Manifest The International Image Interoperability Framework (IIIF) represents a set of open standards that enables rich access to digital media from libraries, archives, museums, and other cultural institutions around the world. Learn more.

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IIIF Manifest The International Image Interoperability Framework (IIIF) represents a set of open standards that enables rich access to digital media from libraries, archives, museums, and other cultural institutions around the world.

Learn more.