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1865 Édouard Manet 1832–1883
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As
I stand before this painting at the Art Institute of Chicago, I am not
transported to the historical event of the mocking of Christ by the
Soldiers but to the underwhelming sight of makeshift artist models with
props and costumes draped over street clothes.
Manet was a high-class debunker of the classical tradition. In his Mocking of Christ, it is Christ's humanity that is on display as the important theme of the painting rather than his role as Son of God or Savior. Rather than being seen as the sacrifice for the sins of mankind, the figure of Christ here is a symbol of man's inherent worth with the heavens shut. It becomes a somewhat vulgar display.
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