Artwork: The Scourging of Christ before Pontius Pilate
Artist: Ferrer Bassa
Created: c. 1333
Medium: Fresco
Dimensions: unknown
Location: Monasterio de Pedralbes, Barcelona, Spain
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“Scenes from the life of Christ depicted by Ferrer Bassa (c. 1290-1348) adorn the walls of the Chapel of St. Michael, which was used by nuns of the Order of St. Clare at the Monasterio de Pedralbes. Heavily influenced by fourteenth-century Italian art, Bassa modeled his painting on the work of Giotto. The Scourging of Christ before Pontius Pilate is a te-creation of a scene disturbing to all Christians, the torturing of Christ before the Roman Prefect of Judaea and the Jewish high priest. Both in its composition and reticent use of color, the scene resembles the work of Giotto. At the left of the painting, a seated Pilate converses with two Jewish high priests, seemingly oblivious to the scourging of the bound Christ by Jewish scribes. A disciple – possibly Peter – watches helplessly from outside the gallery. However, some scholars have suggested that the fresco might depict Matthew’s account of Jesus being brought before the High Priest Caiaphas, rather than Pontius Pilate, with Caiaphas being shown in discussion with two priests bearing witness against Christ. The piece is likely to provoke anger in the Christian viewer who must watch the son of God being brutally beaten at the hands of Jewish scribes, while neither those in authority nor Peter, who would deny Christ three times, make any attempt to intervene. In his painting Bassa implores the viewer to defend the Church against the Jews who have insisted upon his death.
In 1391 anti-Semitism erupted in a pogrom during which hundreds of Barcelonese jews were killed.”(WM)
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