Today is the First Passion Sunday, when the season of Lent becomes more even sombre, as catholics leave the spiritual desert and prepare to accompany Jesus on his final journey to Jerusalem. The liturgy becomes starker and the statues and images in churches are covered by heavy purple drapes. Reflecting this mood I thought I would share this heart rending image of Christ after the flagellation by Bartolomé Esteban Murillo.
Murillo was known for his gentle and accessible religious images and for the sensuous beauty of his paint. Here he focused exclusively on Christ’s suffering, depicting his human yet divine nature. Christ’s tormentors have left the scene; Murillo placed him humbly upon the ground and painted his battered body so that his skin seems almost radiant, despite its wounds and sores. The adoring angels are present to elicit compassion and pity on the part of the viewer.
The Arts of Golden Age Spain and the Hispanic World 