Ecce Homo ~ Behold the Man

Antonio Ciseri's Ecce Homo, or "Behold the Man" is one of my favorite paintings. A lot of artists depicted the Crucifixion of Christ. But this painting is different for me. In this painting Christ is being presented to the angry mob. 

Bloodthirsty mob... I wondered if what Christ has experienced that day was any different than today which contains other bloodthirsty mobs in various shapes and forms. Shakespeare had written in the Tempest, "Hell is empty and all the devils are here." Indeed they are... I see the news, people's posts, presenting themselves as one united angry mob on various sides, various ideologies, with their guns waving, fingers and fists in the air, eyes filled with rage and presenting someone else's dead babies like an offering to gods, and the pictures of blown up homes spread around faster than flu in kindergarten. Then, in order to spread fear among public, Shakespeare's proverbial devils attack the innocent people around the world, during peace rallies, sleeping in their homes, while simply dining, on their way to shopping, attending a concert, a game, while just minding their own business, and tragedy after tragedy, demons seeking recompense at someone else's expense, creating their private acre of hell on earth with no end in the horizon. 

Then, I turn and really really look at this painting again in great detail. It gives me peace even in the midst of turmoil. Let me explain... Even to be a heretic, one must be a believer. I entertained the two hypotheses that he 1. either died to assuage the blood-lust of the angry mob waiting outside, 2. he died for the sins of the world in which case everyone who ever lived killed Jesus. 

Watch this scene from the Outlander. Flagellation (flogging, whipping, lashing) was used as a corporal punishment and was permitted in England and Wales until 1967. The vast space of time that had gone through since Jesus' time may have softened some of the punishment aspects but you can see how Sadistic it still is in this scene. Imagine how exponentially horrid the experience of the scourging was for Jesus. 

(Outlander)

Ciseri used such bright, vibrant, vivid, what I would describe happy colors to depict such a dark, sinister scene. Those of you who believe in nothing, bear with me and entertain the idea that God the Father exists, for a minute. This image actually represents the world as it is, either as a whole, or as in an individual's life. God the Father inflicts the humiliation and suffering to God the Son who is willingly submitting to abasement and anguish. And God the Holy Spirit giving him the grace to endure it. If he ever existed or exist today, I think he would be the only man that would make me feel humble. 

Pay close attention to him in this image as he's being presented:

He's truly a beautiful man. They're in the Praetorium, the Roman castra. 

Pontius Pilate who served under Emperor Tiberius (best known for the trial and crucifixion of Jesus) was the fifth prefect of the Roman province of Judaea from AD 26-36. In layman's terms, he was the Roman overseer of Jerusalem. At the time, he was trying to keep a very fragile peace (not unlike today). Pilate stated, "I find no guilt in him (Jesus)," and he asks the mob of crowd gathered outside if Jesus should be released from custody. Since it was a prevailing Passover custom in Jerusalem that allowed and/or required Pilate the praefectus or governor of Judea to commute one prisoner’s death sentence by popular acclaim, the crowd got a choice to have either Barabbas or Jesus released from the Roman custody. The crowd chose Barabbas to be released and Jesus of Nazareth to be crucified. So instead of immediately sentencing Jesus to die, he orders him to be scourged. Scourging means a near fatal beating with a whip. The particular whip that is used for such a punishment had bones, rocks, and glass embedded in the lashes. Clearly, it's a brutal punishment. Pontius Pilate hoped that such a merciless torture would assuage the mob's blood-lust. But obviously, the crowd had made its choice.

If you look at the painting however, you'll see no wounds. The skin of his back is flawless, not a blemish: simply perfect. But he is supposedly just been ferociously, savagely beaten. Then I realized that Ciseri was simply underscoring Christ's beauty, not the torture he had just endured. In an odd way, he's showing Jesus' feminine side (no, it's not what you're automatically assuming). I have seen number of painting that depicted Crucifixion and I came to the conclusion that they are all inaccurate. There's always that little loincloth they painted on the Christ. That's completely erroneous. 

During that time, all the victims of the crucifixion were stripped naked from all clothing to add to their abasement and degradation. Crucifixion was essentially a method of torture and not just a method of putting someone to death. It was particularly cruel and unusual form of disposing of people. Each aspect of death on the cross was incredibly ghastly. Among many different forms of death and torture Romans used, crucifixion was the staple because it sent a more lingering message. It wasn’t just prolonged torture and the eventual death; it was debasement as well, rape of the accused body and soul. I think, for the same reason, the artists had a hard time bringing themselves to show just how human Jesus was. I can't even begin to imagine what it must be like for him to go through this. 

Christians talk about Virgin Mary who married later and was a virgin no longer. What people forget and never really talk about is that Jesus too was a virgin. When someone sees your body in all its nakedness for the first time, it is an unforgettable and a private experience. But in a situation like this Jesus was completely bared to his soul kind of naked and displayed for the whole world of his time to see, mock and torture. This all happened in front of his poor mother and his friend Mary Magdalene. How ashamed he must be, disgraced and humiliated. 

Then look at the painting of Jesus again. Examine the curve of his back and his shoulders. That's a very classic feminine posture. (You can compare the posture with the below painting).

Jesus' hands tied behind his back, his robe which would have normally covered his torso is falling over his hips and the spectators consisted of the mob are pointing, staring or gawking at him. But examine the women in the picture. Look at the woman on the right who has her back completely turned back. She can't even bring herself to look at the horrible scene unfolding before her; she's looking away and holding onto another woman to keep herself from collapsing. Of all the people depicted in this painting, that's the sole individual whose face we can completely see. The two women in the scene, two of the most significant women in his life are huddled together in the foreground with unmistakable anguish. It's because they know what Jesus is feeling. Women somehow are more sensitive, they always know. 

These women are fully aware that they aren't just witnessing the torture and the eventual murder of someone they love. It wasn't just a crucifixion. It was also rape. 

So, of all the gods out there, Jesus would probably be the only one who understands pain, degradation and shame. 

If he truly existed, what an arduous path he took for our salvation. For love. And that would make the perfect God I would respect and not what anyone else is selling with their distorted understanding & creepy propaganda. For those, I share with you the wisdom of Melvin Udall: