Jesus Mocked by the Soldiers

Notes from the museum

Throughout his career Édouard Manet managed to shock and confound the public with his bold technique and unorthodox approach to subject matter. The most startling feature of this painting is that he painted it at all. Following the advent of the Realist movement, which grounded art in the here and now, avant-garde artists in France did not pursue religious themes. While Manet was primarily a painter of secular subjects, he was also interested in art history, which led him on at least two occasions to depict the biblical narratives that had compelled artists for many centuries. This work might also have been inspired by the popular 1863 biography Vie de Jésus (Life of Jesus) by the French philosopher and historian Joseph-Ernest Renan, a controversial work that emphasized Christ’s humanity. Here, Manet depicted Jesus at the end of his life, beaten and awaiting crucifixion. The Roman soldiers force him to don a crown of thorns and proffer a reed “scepter” and purple cloak, all intended to ridicule him as “King of the Jews,” a title bestowed ironically by his tormenters. Manet transformed this sacred narrative into a gritty drama that marries realism with theatricality. He presented Jesus frontally, emphasizing his vulnerability and human physicality. Jesus seems exhausted and limp. The canvas’s visible brushstrokes and color palette create a sense of materiality that further evokes

Text: Art Institute of Chicago (open access). Our full story for this work is coming soon.

Slow Look

1. The whole picture Let your eyes wander. Where do they want to rest?
2. The light Find the brightest spot. What is it showing you?
3. The edges Look at what is half cut off at the borders.
4. One small detail Choose one tiny thing and stay with it for a while.
5. The whole picture again Step back. Has it changed for you?

About Édouard Manet

Édouard Manet was a French modernist painter. He was one of the first 19th-century artists to paint modern life, as well as a pivotal figure in the transition from Realism to Impressionism.

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