Mocking of Christ

Gentileschi's 1628 Mocking of Christ was painted after his arrival in London, where he had been invited by the Duke of Buckingham and remained under royal patronage until his death. The subject — soldiers placing a crown of thorns on Christ and subjecting him to humiliation — was a test of the painter's ability to combine the dignity of the divine victim with the cruelty of his tormentors. Gentileschi's London period saw him produce some of his most refined and carefully composed works, adapting his Caravaggesque naturalism to the more restrained English taste of the Caroline court.

Christ is positioned as a still centre around whom his tormentors are arranged, his expression resigned and inward. Gentileschi's cool, directional light falls from a high source, modelling the heads and hands with precision. The palette is characteristically restrained — pale flesh tones, grey-blue and earth-coloured draperies.