The Mocking of Christ(Bartolomeo Manfredi)
This Ecce Homo presents Four subtly arranged figures: the Captive Christ displayed against his blood red drape, a turbaned Pilate an two rather brutal guarding soldiers. The figures, seen from below, are partially contained by the low edge of the balcony on the left. The gesture of Pilate, as he leans forward to show Christ, breaks the picture plane and links the viewer to the scene. The brilliantly manipulated chiaroscuro underscores the composition’s stage-like quality, while picking out the varying emotions of the participants.
The exhibited picture certainly depends on those produced in a competition sponsored by Monsignor Massimi. According to Baldinucci 1671-1728, (ed. 1846 J. III, pp. 266ff), Massimi asked Caravaggio, Cigoli and Passignano (unbeknown to each other) each to produce a painting of the Ecce Homo. This competition probably took place in the summer of 1606. Passignano’s picture seems to be lost while Caravaggio’s was probably sent to Spain (Bellori, 1672, pp. 20ff) and is identified by some with a canvas now in the Palazzo Rosso, Genoa (The Age of Caravaggio, exhibition catalogue, New York, 1985, pp. 304ff). Both of the surviving competition paintings are vertical with three-quarter length figures: Christ, Pilate and a soldier. Cigoli’s has Christ at the centre but Caravaggio’s more radical invention moves Christ to the left. Bartolomeo Manfredi follows Cigoli’s composition more closely than that of Caravaggio. Both Cigoli’s and Bartolomeo Manfredi’s Ecce Homo place Christ at the centre, flanked to the left by a gesturing Pilate and to the other side by a soldier, who, with his right hand, holds up Christ’s raiment, and in his left grasps Christ’s bonds. However, Bartolomeo Manfredi expands the second scene and creates a horizontal composition by interposing a second helmeted soldier in profile. Bartolomeo Manfredi’s soldier to the farthest right has a vivid arresting countenance, which may incorporate an actual portrait. Ultimately, Bartolomeo Manfredi’s representation is the most highly charged and dramatic of all.
Without a single dated or documented work, it is difficult to propose anything but the most tentative chronology. However, it seems clear that this painting must postdate the master’s earliest works, which include The Crowning of Thorns (Bayerische Staatsgemädesammlung, Munich) and Mars Punishing Amor (Art Institute, Chicago) and which still show the considerable influence of Roncalli. As this picture strongly reflects the impact of Caravaggio and the Massimi competition, a date of circa 1610-1612 seems to be most reasonable.