Christ at the Column

Christ at the Column from around 1600, attributed to Palma Vecchio, almost certainly postdates the artist who died in 1528. The late date strongly suggests a follower or workshop copy maintaining the master's style. The subject of Christ bound to the column before his flagellation was a common Passion devotional image, particularly associated with Venetian painting where the physical suffering of Christ was rendered with characteristic warmth and sensuous color. Palma Vecchio was a leading figure in early sixteenth-century Venetian painting, celebrated for his blonde female types—known as Palma beauties—combining Giorgionesque poetry with sensuous physical presence. His style proved enormously influential on later Venetian painters, and workshop and follower production continued to meet demand for images in his manner well after his death. The work is held at Campion Hall, the Jesuit house at Oxford.

The figure of the bound Christ is rendered in the warm Venetian manner associated with Palma Vecchio, with rich color and soft modeling.