The Flagellation of Christ

Vaccaro's Flagellation of Christ, dated around 1650 and held at the State Gallery in Schleißheim Palace near Munich, demonstrates the pan-European market for Neapolitan Baroque devotional painting. The Schleißheim collection was assembled by the Wittelsbach dynasty, whose agents purchased extensively in Rome and Naples during the seventeenth century. The Flagellation was among the most requested of Passion subjects — its combination of physical suffering and spiritual endurance made it a powerful instrument of Counter-Reformation piety, and painters like Vaccaro produced multiple versions for different clients. His approach to the subject reflects both the Riberesque tradition of unflinching physical scrutiny and a degree of Bolognese elegance that softened the more brutal aspects of the scene. The inclusion of this work in the Bavarian royal collection confirms his reputation outside Naples.

The Flagellation demands careful anatomical study of the bound, tormented figure of Christ. Vaccaro builds the illuminated torso with structured layers of flesh-toned glazes, creating a convincing sense of volume and vulnerability. The tormentors are typically rendered with more summary handling in darker passages, directing focus to the suffering figure.