'Behold the man,' said Roman governor of Judea Pontius Pilate about Jesus in a mock Caesar costume

            Artist: Alonso Berruguete
Title: Ecce Homo, c. 1524, Material: painted wood with gilding and silvering
Venue: originally at the Museo Nacional de Escultura in Valladolid, Spain now in the Gallery of Art, Washington, D.C.
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"1 Then Pilate therefore took Jesus, and scourged him. 2 And the soldiers platted a crown of thorns, and put it on his head, and they put on him a purple robe. 3 And said, Hail, King of the Jews! and they smote him with their hands....5 Then came Jesus forth, wearing the crown of thorns, and the purple robe. And Pilate saith unto them, Behold the man!" –John 19 verses 1-3,5 of the New Testament, Bible

Background: Caesars, that is to say, Roman emperors such as Tiberius Caesar, were the only ones entitled to wear the reddish-purple color, a very expensive dye that singularly marked the Caesar family wealth and emperor power. Roman emperors also wore laurel wreath "coronas" as crowns on their heads. The wreath was a sign of Caesar's importance and godly status. 

Those who beheld the scourged man in a stripped-down Caesar costume understood the satire. This was someone who had challenged Caesar’s authority, Rome's authority. The Roman province of Judaea was filled with numerous self-proclaimed messiahs, those who believed they were anointed from on high to vanquish the Roman conquerors from Judea and rein in David's kingdom. Rome’s penalty for insurrection against Caesar and Rome was death by crucifixion for all to see and be warned.

Barnes' notes on the Bible explains: "The Roman princes [sic] wore 'purple' robes, and 'Pilate,' therefore, put [sic: via his soldiers] such a robe on Jesus. The Jewish kings wore a 'white' robe, which was often rendered very shining or gorgeous by much tinsel or silver interwoven. Josephus [Historian, born c. 37 A.D. – died c. 100 A.D.] says that the robe which Agrippa wore was so bright with silver that when the sun shone on it, it so dazzled the eyes that it was difficult to look on it."

That is to say Jesus was dressed up like Caesar of the Roman Empire and not Herod Agrippa, the appointed King of Judea by Caesar. Ponder that.
   

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Taken in: United States / Washington, D.C. / East End (show map)

Taken on: February 2, 2020

Tags:

District of Columbia

death penalty

New Testament

The Easter story

Roman Empire

crucifixion

Caesar

Bible

John 19:5

Province of Judea

Tiberius Julius Caesar Augustus

Messiah

Christianity

Ecce Homo

National Gallery of Art

sedition

capital punishment

artwork

Jesus

Good Friday

Jesus of Nazareth

Julius Caesar « less

Sets appears in: • Religious art, life & architecture

Groups appears in: • Classic Art • Utata more » • Statues and Sculptures. • Religions • ☪ ✝ ☸ Religions ✡ ☬ ☯ • Exposed DC « less

Camera: Nikon D850, f/2.8, 1/25 sec, 34mm, ISO 500 (more info) (hide info)

Camera:	Nikon D850
Lens:	24.0-70.0 mm f/2.8
Aperture:	f/2.8
Exposure Time:	0.04 sec (1/25)
Focal Length:	34mm
ISO:	500
Exposure Bias:	0 EV
Flash:	No Flash
Exposure Program:	Manual
Exposure Mode:	Manual
Metering Mode:	Multi-segment
White Balance:	Auto
Color Space:	sRGB
Software:	Adobe Photoshop Lightroom Classic 12.2.1 (Macintosh)
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