Flagellation of Christ with the Pavement,

ca. 1475

Mentioned only briefly in the Gospels, the flagellation of Christ, ordered by Pontius Pilate, is one of the most violent and most frequently represented episodes of the Passion narrative. Christ is usually shown bound to a column, while being beaten, and is mocked by one or more bystanders. In this unfinished composition, rigorously planned in accordance with the Italian Renaissance concern for one-point linear perspective, all of the figures are rendered with sculptural clarity. The sharp contrasts between light and shadow, created with parallel engraved lines, create relieflike effects in the soldiers’ armor and the classical architecture—both of which reflect Mantegna’s keen interest in Roman antiquity.