The Flagellation of Christ

Piero della Francesca (c. 1415–1492) — c. 1455–1460 · Tempera on panel · Galleria Nazionale delle Marche, Urbino

“Then Pilate therefore took Jesus, and scourged him.” — John 19:1 (KJV)

About

The most analysed picture of the Renaissance (about 1455–1460, Urbino): at the back left, small in a marble hall, Christ is scourged at the column; in the foreground, three large men in contemporary dress stand talking, turned away, indifferent or conspiring — scholars have argued their identities for a century.

The Meaning

Piero's cold geometry carries a hot doctrine: the world's business goes on in the front of the picture while redemption bleeds at the back. Whether the three men are counsellors, Jews, or politicians, the sermon stands — Christ suffers in the background of an occupied world.

For Us Today

Do not be one of the foreground men — close to Christ's suffering and busy with other talk. Examine whether your religion is conversation about Jesus or attention to Jesus; the scourging deserves witnesses who turn around (Isaiah 53:3).

Image: Public domain · via Wikimedia Commons — the file’s page. Tap the picture to open the full-size original there.