Ecce Homo. Christ Presented to the People

Rembrandt · 1655
The Cleveland Museum of Art

A very large print of 1655 made entirely in drypoint — lines scratched straight into the copper, which give soft, velvety edges. Rembrandt changed the plate many times, and in later states he scraped away the crowd in front of the platform; this impression is from before that change.

Pilate, in a tall turban, stands on a stone platform before a public building and points to Jesus, whose hands are bound. The people crowd below, and faces look out of the windows.

From the text

“Look, I am bringing Him out to you” (John 19:4)

“Here is the man!” (John 19:5)

“Barabbas, or Jesus who is called Christ?” (Matthew 27:17)

The artist’s own

A stage before a building like a Dutch town hall

A statue of a blindfolded woman with scales — the usual figure of Justice

Details

Pilate

Pilate in a high turban, a staff in one hand, points with the other.

Jesus

Jesus stands bound, his head slightly bowed.

The crowd

Below the platform people turn to each other and call out.

Justice

A statue of a blindfolded woman holding scales.

Rembrandt van Rijn (Dutch, 1606–1669). The Cleveland Museum of Art (Leonard C. Hanna Jr. Fund, 2006.155) · Drypoint · Cleveland Museum of Art Open Access: Collection API record "share_license_status": "CC0" (Creative Commons Zero, https://creativecommons.org/publicdomain/zero/1.0/).

The verses

John 19:4–5Once again Pilate came out and said to the Jews, “Look, I am bringing Him out to you to let you know that I find no basis for a charge against Him.” When Jesus came out wearing the crown of thorns and the purple robe, Pilate said to them, “Here is the man!”

Matt 27:15–17Now it was the governor’s custom at the feast to release to the crowd a prisoner of their choosing. At that time they were holding a notorious prisoner named Barabbas. So when the crowd had assembled, Pilate asked them, “Which one do you want me to release to you: Barabbas, or Jesus who is called Christ?”