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Crowning with Thorns

ca. 1627–28
Not on view
Returned to lender
This work of art was on loan to the museum and has since been returned to its lender.
Valentin returns to a theme he had treated early in his career, but without the raw naturalism that characterized that work. There is a classical beauty as well as dignity about the resigned figure of Christ. His tormentors, though brutal, have gained in psychological complexity. X-rays reveal that the picture is painted over an abandoned portrait of the papal nephew, Cardinal Francesco Barberini: Valentin was therefore clearly in the cardinal’s employ.

Artwork Details

Object Information
  • Title: Crowning with Thorns
  • Artist: Valentin de Boulogne (French, Coulommiers-en-Brie 1591–1632 Rome)
  • Date: ca. 1627–28
  • Medium: Oil on canvas
  • Dimensions: 51 15/16 × 37 15/16 in. (132 × 96.3 cm)
  • Classification: Paintings
  • Credit Line: Bayerische Staatsgemäldesammlungen München-Alte Pinakothek, Munich
  • Curatorial Department: European Paintings