Crowning with thorns - Mocking

Depictions related to The Coronation of Jesus have their origins in the descriptions of the Evangelists: Matthew (27: 27-30), Mark (15: 16-19) and John (19: 2-3). The oldest known paintings on this theme date from the 4th century and symbolically refer to the narrative descriptions, reflecting the concepts of early Christian theology. The images emphasise the idea of victory. Christ is portrayed as an emperor with a Roman legionary placing a wreath of laurel leaves on his head. No mockery or humiliation of Jesus is depicted. As medieval mysticism developed, iconography focused more and more on highlighting the drama of suffering. The laurel wreath was replaced by a crown woven from branches of thorns. Additional motifs connected with the humiliation of Jesus appeared in late medieval representations, inspired by the then-popular passion-themed literary texts. The relief of The Crowning with Thorns and Mocking is the fourth scene of the Passion cycle of the late medieval altar from Wkryujście. The dynamics of the representation and its message are built up by the depicted figures' gestures, which are essential elements of expression in the culture and art of the Middle Ages, called even the epoch of gesture. Three soldiers brutally abuse Jesus with thick sticks, forcing a crown of thorns on his head. The posture of the fourth, bowing down before Jesus, relates to the theme of The Exile. The man kneels before the King of the Jews and sticks out his tongue, while with his right hand, he ostentatiously shows him the characteristic gesture of a fig. These are signs of an exceptional obscene insult, which were attributed to Jesus' torturers in late medieval art. Jesus' upright posture, gazing into the distance, shows his royal dignity, preserved despite the cruelty he suffered.

Kinga Krasnodębska