Spanish school; second half of the 17th century."Christ tied to the column".Oil on canvas.It

Spanish school; second half of the 17th century.
"Christ tied to the column".
Oil on canvas.
It presents restorations and repainting.
Measurements: 104 x 76 cm; 121 x 94 cm (frame).
Devotional painting in which we can appreciate the figure of Christ in the centre of the composition, tied to a low column. It is a representation of an episode belonging to the Passion cycle, a highly dramatic but non-narrative theme, designed to encourage the faithful to be moved by Christ's physical suffering and to admire his acceptance of the misfortunes he must suffer in order to redeem mankind. The scene narrated in the Gospels takes place in the Praetorium in Jerusalem, the centre of Roman power, where Christ has arrived for the second and last time, after his passage through various instances. He is exhibited before the crowd ("Ecce Homo"), who preferred to release Barabbas rather than him and, either before or after this exhibition, he is stripped of his clothes and tied to a pillar, where he is subjected to mockery regarding his alleged crime, being "king of the Jews", and torture, including scourging and the crowning with thorns. In this particular scene, the artist has tried to convey a certain intimacy between the faithful and the representation of Jesus, which is why he has depicted him in solitude, without the company of the soldiers. In the centre of the composition, Jesus is presented to the viewer with the symbols of his penitence, the crown of thorns, his imprisonment on the column, where the blood can be seen, and marks of pain reflected in the wounds in his knees. It should also be noted that in order to create a symmetrical composition, the artist has chosen to place a column on the left, where he has placed several palms tied to the perimeter of the column, with the intention of conveying Christ's suffering. These symbols are reinforced by the presence of the legend "See and heed my pain, and you will find that there has been no pain like the one I suffered, because I am your Redeemer". This calligraphic resource alludes directly to the spectator and forces him to have an active attitude towards the image; however, despite the message of suffering, the artist places the words under an illuminated lantern, thus contributing the idea of light and hope.
Formally, this work is related to the Baroque naturalist trend that dominated the Spanish school in the first half of the 17th century, influenced by Caravaggio and his followers. Thus, the canvas displays all the basic characteristics of this style. Firstly, the tenebrist, artificial, focused lighting directed towards the most important areas of the composition, creating expressive chiaroscuro and leaving the rest in a nuanced semi-darkness that speaks of the painter's mastery. On the other hand, the composition is also typical of naturalism: simple, clear and realistic, with Christ in the foreground against a defined background but worked in neutral tones. Finally, we should also note the highly studied and nuanced colour range, with a palette revolving around ochres, carmines and earthy tones, typically Caravaggist.