Christ Before Caiaphas
Antonius Pavelio Italus
Basic information
- ID
- Ж-2529
- Author
- Antonius Pavelio Italus
- Name
- Christ Before Caiaphas
- Date of creation
- 1772
- Technique
- oil painting
- Material
- copper oil
- Dimensions (height x width, cm)
- 46.5 x 37.5
Additionally
- Type
- painting
- Genre
- religious
- Plot
- Christ before the High Priest Caiaphas
- Provenance
- Collection of Boleslaw Orzechowicz
- Exposition
- Potocki Palace
Information about author
Object description
Jesus before Caiaphas is a biblical scene described in the Gospel of John, Chapter 12, Verses 12-24. The iconography of this scene is quite diverse. However, it has mostly been depicted as part of the cycle of the Passion of Christ, for example, the famous work "Christ before Caiaphas" (1618) by the Utrecht Caravaggist painter Gerrit van Honthorst. The action takes place in Jerusalem on the night of Thursday to Friday after Jesus' arrest. The Savior is brought before the Sanhedrin and put on trial before Caiaphas. Caiaphas was appointed high priest by the Roman governor Valerius Gratus in A.D. 26. Caiaphas was the son-in-law of Ananias, the previous high priest and member of the Sanhedrin. According to the Gospel of John, Jesus was taken first to Annas and then to Caiaphas, whose duty was to interrogate the prisoner and determine his guilt. The interrogation ended with spitting, mocking and beating of the Savior, who remained silent. He answered only the last question of the enraged Caiaphas: "Are you the Christ, the Son of the Blessed One?" Jesus replied: "I am!" (Mark 14:61-62). Caiaphas tore his clothes as a sign of his outrage, and Jesus was found guilty and sentenced to death. The artist depicted the moment of the interrogation on the canvas. On the left side of the painting, we see the figure of the bound Christ in a pink tunic and blue mantle being pushed by soldiers to the elevation where the high priest's throne stands. On the right, we see Caiaphas, recognised by his robes, breastplate and special headdress – the mitre. He is seated on a throne under a white canopy with a gold fringe, surrounded by Pharisees and Levites. In the foreground are three figures: on the left, a muscular man holding the chain from the fetters that bound Jesus' feet, and on the right, two elders discussing the event.
Legal regulation
Borys Voznytskyi Lviv National Art Gallery
