The Mocking of Christ
...he people of Paris, made an endeavor to change his dominant subject matter by developing a religious appropriately named “The mocking of Christ,” or “Jesus Mocked by the Soldiers.” In his prime, at age thirty-two, he presented this painting along with another that had previously been rejected alone, to the Salon des Refuses. The past year he had submitted his only other religious painting “The Dead Christ and the Angels,” which had done well. The “Mocking of Christ” though, was condemned beyond any means he could have imagined. People were dismayed with this piece, because they felt Manet fell very far bellow his standard. They did not agree with his interpretation of this religious scenario, and felt he was ignorant. Paul de Saint-Victor wrote in La Presse: ‘The crowd, as at the morgue, presses together in front of the gamy Olympia and the horrible Ecce Hommo (Mocking of Christ) of M. Manet. Art, having sunk so low, does not even deserve reprimand.” (Abrams pg. 226) “The Mocking of Christ” differs from many of his other works not only in subject matter but also in his orientation of it. Unlike the vast majority of his previous works, was premeditated to the extent that sketches were actually drawn up. Manet was known for being sporadic with his work, waiting until his subjects were in his studio. Surprisingly, this painting was completely developed with a preliminary process. Titian’s, “Christ Crowned with Thorns” influenced Manet predominantly. The composition of Titian’s interpretation is very similar to Manet’s choice of appointment. Another analogous piece would be an engraving, “Christ Crowned with Thorns,” by Scheltema a Bolswert. All three paintings infer the same scene, but through each artist own vision. The incident was when a group of soldiers put an unclothed Christ and put on him a scarlet robe. ’And when they had platted a crown of thorns, they put it upon his head, and a reed in his right hand: and they bowed the knee before him, and mocked him, saying ‘Hail, King of the Jews’. And they spit upon him, and took the reed, and smote him on the head. And after they had mocked him, they took the robe off from him’ (Abrams pg. 228) Manet’s rendering is similar to the others, but encompass’ his own personal style and visualization. The Art Institute’s immaculate placement of the painting allows it to draw its observers in from a distance. Occupying nearly an entire wall in a very small gallery, “The Mocking of Christ” promptly astounds its viewers with its bewildering size. Standing at 75 1/8 X 58 3/8 the mere magnitude of this masterpiece leaves you breathless while it overshadows your body. When standing just arm-lengths away, you begin to discover the true beauty of this oil on canvas. As if it were satin linen, the smoothness of this painting beholds an inviting gracefulness. This tranquility is what drives the viewer to stand on an angel, and let their eyes follow the curvature of each stroke. From this perspective, the light from above strikes every contour, allowing you to see where each individual bristle of Manet’s brush had touched. Being up this close, you awaken from the illusion that these figures are real, and come to the realization that this is just a painting. You know this because you are surveying strokes of chestnut, tan, olive, white, coral, khaki, and gray, when you only thought there was peach. Numerous hues melt together to form a solid color. This short distance enables you to come to terms with the craftsmanship, and skill it took to produce this profound work of art. Manet’s choice of using a warm color scheme, against very dark tints of gray brings unity and subliminal messaging to his composition. The use of orange, and yellows, unifies the three secondary figures while illuminating Jesus. The three soldiers surrounding Christ convey identical color compositions. They all wear bottoms with deep grays, and browns. The shading of the wrinkles is practically black, which give them depth. Much like the kneeling man’s shirt, the torsos of the two men standing behind Christ embody a very rich golden affect, but still have a very dark saturation. Murky grays outline the figures almost singeing them into the black vacant background. The one man on the right is wearing a very bright bandana, which draws attention to his head. The standing man opposite his is wearing a very dark gray helmet, with a silver highlight. All of their accessories, such as their rope, sticks, and swords are also warm colors or gray. The red robe that the soldier is holding over Christ’s shoulders is also a very dark tint, which also blends it with the others. These characters and objects are all unified into a background scene their colors. Christ on the other hand, is painted with much lighter colors. The different tints of whites, tans, and yellows make up his flesh color. The shading of his physic seems to be made of darker browns. This shading springs out the muscles and bones of Christ, against the luminosity of his skin. The orange, almost burgundy beard of Jesus seems forged and misplaced alongside his radiance. The white cloth wrapped around his waist is the brightest object in the entire painting. The only other place Manet used w...