Flagellation

Collegio della Guastalla
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about Collegio GuastallaThe work of art taken into consideration is mentioned in the inventory of Guastalla of 1768 and it was kept in the church of Collegio della Guastalla.

The Sacred
Vai all'opera successiva
sul tema SacroAt the center of the painting, in the foreground, Christ is bound to a column surrounded by four executioners scourging him, on his body are still evident the marks left by the weapons.
The scene takes place under a gloomy and suffocating arcade that stresses the drama of the event, further emphasized by the sorrowful but dignified face of Christ and by the dynamic posture of the four persecutors that, painted in the semi-darkness, emerge powerfully from the darkness of the scene.

Although the poses of the executioners give a sense of dynamism, at a first glance the scene appears frozen in time. In the background, beside the colonnade where the episode is set, buildings of classic style and on the left the fronds of a tree may be glimpsed.
Stylistically the painting is connected to the Venetian world from the way the artist has shaped the whole environment.

Curiosity
Vista la datazione si potrebbe presumere che il quadro sia stato acquisito già negli anni di vita della contessa Torelli; tale ipotesi è giustificata anche dalla particolare devozione della donna nei confronti del Mistero della Flagellazione.