Sidney and Lois Eskenazi Museum of Art

About this Work

Trained in painting and metalwork, Martin Schongauer pushed the artistry of the engraving technique to a new level, while he maintained a fairly traditional approach to the narrative. The portability and multiplicity of prints made his images an important source of inspiration for artitsts working in many media. This scene from his Passion cycle was freely adapted in a 1502-30 Limoges painted enamel (now in the Fitzwilliam Museum).

The series consists of twelve sequential scenes depicting the final days in the life of Jesus Christ. This image, which includes a man in the lower left plaiting a crown of thorns, immediately proceded another work in the Sidney and Lois Eskenazi Museum of Art's collection, Christ Crowned with Thorns (EMA 71.59).