Oil painting, 'Christ Crowned with Thorns', Follower of Jacopo Bassano, ca. 1600

Christ sitting bound at the writs and draped with a red cloth has the crown of thorns forced on his head with rods by two men behind him, a third man sticks his tongue out and makes an obscene gesture with his hand while another figure looks on at left

Bequeathed by John M. Parsons

Bequeathed by John M. Parsons, 1870
John Meeson Parsons (1798-1870), art collector, was born in Newport, Shropshire. He later settled in London, and became a member of the stock exchange. His interest in railways led to his election as an associate of the Institution of Civil Engineers in 1839, and he was director or chairman of two railway companies between 1843 and 1848. Much of his time however was spent collecting pictures and works of art. In his will he offered his collection of mostly German and Dutch schools to the National Gallery (which selected only three works) and to the Department of Science and Art at South Kensington, later the Victoria and Albert Museum. The South Kensington Museum acquired ninety-two oil paintings and forty-seven watercolours. A number of engravings were also left to the British Museum.

Historical significance: Jacopo Bassano (ca. 1510-1592) was apprenticed to his father, Francesco, with whom he collaborated. In the early 1530s Jacopo trained in Venice with Bonifazio de’ Pitati and was greatly inspired by the works of Titian. Jacopo studied a wide range of graphic material, including prints by or after Titian, Dürer and Marcantonio Raimondi among others. He enjoyed combining direct observation of nature with reference to graphic prototypes.

563-1870 is unusual in that it combines two different iconographies, the Crowning with Thorns and the Mocking of Christ. According to Matthew 26:67; Mark 14:65; Luke 22:63, after Christ's arrest in Jerusalem, and either just before or just following his appearance before Caiaphas, Christ was set upon by the Jews and subjected to various indignities. According to Matthew 27:27-31; Mark 15:16-20; John 19:2-3, Christ was subsequently led to the courtyard of Pilate's house, dressed in a purple mantle and crowned with thorns and was then derided again.

563-1870 recalls the quicker, looser brush technique of Jacopo's late works from about 1580 onwards in which he combined a similar use of acidic colours, often juxtaposing pale yellow and pink, with dramatic chiaroscuro light effects such as in The Purification of the Temple ca. 1580 (London, National Gallery). It is in this period that Jacopo no longer painted altarpieces but concentrated on smaller religious pictures, such as 563-1870, especially episodes of the Passion, all with highly dramatic lighting. There is a work by Bassano of the same subject, although of a different composition, dated to the 1580s in the Museum of Fine Arts, Boston and one dated ca. 1590 at Christ Church College Picture Gallery, Oxford. Although 563-1870 shares similar physiognomy and colouring with Bassano's works it is not as finely executed and posesses a certain 'flatness' not found in works by the master.

Smaller religious paintings such as this were intended for private devotion. Christians in the Middle Ages and Renaissance periods expressed and strengthened their faith through public rituals, such as celebration of the Eucharist, and personal devotions conducted in a private chapel, monastic cell, or simply in a secluded part of their home. In western Europe, a form of spirituality that emphasised the emotional involvement of the faithful emerged by 1300. Believers were encouraged to contemplate events from the life of Christ, the Virgin, or the saints, as if they were present. Images of the Virgin and Child were among the most popular images for private devotion and these were primarily small religious paintings suitable as a focus for private worship, as opposed to larger altarpieces intended for public display.

At one time thought to be Spanish (1893 Cat.), this work as described as North Italian by Kauffmann (1973) who also recognised its resemblance to works by the Bassano family of painters. Formerly called 'Christ Crowned with Thorns'

Jacopo Bassano (ca. 1510-1592) was apprenticed to his father, Francesco, with whom he collaborated. In the early 1530s Jacopo trained in Venice with Bonifazio de’ Pitati and was greatly inspired by the works of Titian. Jacopo studied a wide range of graphic material, including prints by or after Titian, Dürer and Marcantonio Raimondi among others. He enjoyed combining direct observation of nature with reference to graphic prototypes.

563-1870 is unusual in that it combines two different iconographies, the Crowning with Thorns and the Mocking of Christ. According to the biblical accounts, after his arrest in Jerusalem, and either just before or just following his appearance before Caiaphas, Christ was set upon by the Jews and subjected to various indignities. He was subsequently led to the courtyard of Pilate's house, dressed in a purple mantle and crowned with thorns and was then derided again.

563-1870 recalls the quicker, looser brush technique of Jacopo's late works from about 1580 onwards in which he combined a similar use of acidic colours, often juxtaposing pale yellow and pink, with dramatic chiaroscuro light effects such as in The Purification of the Temple ca. 1580 (London, National Gallery). Although 563-1870 shares similar physiognomy and colouring with Bassano's works it is not as finely executed and possesses a certain 'flatness' not found in works by the master.

563-1870