Ecce Homo thumbnail 1
Not currently on display at the V&A

Ecce Homo

Panel
ca. 1550 (made)
Artist/Maker
Place of origin

The Latin title of this panel is ‘Ecce Homo’ (‘behold the man’). According to the Gospel of St John, these were the words uttered by Pontius Pilate, the Roman governor of Judea, when he presented the scourged Christ to the assembled crowds who then demanded his crucifixion.

In the middle of the period 1500-1600, when this panel was made, new techniques for producing decorated glass were introduced. Glassmakers used paints known as 'enamels' to paint directly onto the glass, similar to painting onto a canvas. The colours were produced by adding metallic oxides to a ground glass (frit) mixture and the resulting colour range included the delicate pinks, reds and purples shown here.


Object details

Categories
Object type
TitleEcce Homo (generic title)
Materials and techniques
Stained glass
Brief description
Stained Glass panel depicting 'Ecce Homo', German, ca.1550
Physical description
Stained glass panel, in dark brown, red, silver-yellow, blue and green enamel, and needle point, depicting 'Ecce Homo'.
Dimensions
  • Sight height: 39.5cm
  • Sight width: 28.0cm
  • In wooden frame with 538 1907 and 540 1907 weight: 7.9kg
  • Wood frame (with 538 & 540 1907) height: 64.7cm
  • Wood frame (with 538 & 540 1907) width: 93.5cm
Weight is approximate and includes bubblewrap and Correx packing for decant.
Production
Based on one of the series of woodcuts of the Passion by Albrecht Durer.
Subjects depicted
Summary
The Latin title of this panel is ‘Ecce Homo’ (‘behold the man’). According to the Gospel of St John, these were the words uttered by Pontius Pilate, the Roman governor of Judea, when he presented the scourged Christ to the assembled crowds who then demanded his crucifixion.

In the middle of the period 1500-1600, when this panel was made, new techniques for producing decorated glass were introduced. Glassmakers used paints known as 'enamels' to paint directly onto the glass, similar to painting onto a canvas. The colours were produced by adding metallic oxides to a ground glass (frit) mixture and the resulting colour range included the delicate pinks, reds and purples shown here.
Associated objects
Bibliographic reference
Foister, Susan, Art of Light: German Renaissance Stained Glass(London: National Gallery Company, 2007), 32 p., ill., ISBN 978 185709 348 3. p. 15. ill.
Collection
Accession number
539-1907

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Record createdMay 8, 2002
Record URL
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