Many scenes showing the crowning of thorns were inspired by a famous version by Caravaggio. Yet in this tragic scene the youthful Ribera appropriated this prototype and reinvented it. Among the executioners, we find the famous bald model once again, as well as a grimacing young man, who with his thumb placed between his index and middle fingers, makes an insulting gesture known as the “fica”. This gesture, imbued with an obvious sexual connotation, comes from the underworld of Baroque Rome, with which Ribera was undoubtedly familiar.
The Arts of Golden Age Spain and the Hispanic World 