Christ Presented to the People
Medium
Oil, gold, and silver on linden
Dimensions
10 7/8 x 18 in. (27.6 x 45.7 cm)
Classification
Paintings
Department
European Paintings
Museum
Metropolitan Museum of Art, New York, NY
Credit
Marquand Collection, Gift of Henry G. Marquand, 1889
Accession Number
89.15.13
Tags
Art Historical Context
In the bustling scene of *Christ Presented to People*, Dutch Renaissance master Lucas van Leyden captures the dramatic moment from the Passion of Christ known as Ecce Homo—Pontius presenting the crowned Jesus to a jeering crowd. Painted on a modest linden wood panel ( 7/8 x 18 in.), this intimate work invites close contemplation, likely intended for private devotion in a 16th-century European home or chapel. Van Leyden, a prodigy engraver and painter influenced by Albrecht Dürer, infuses the composition with his signature meticulous detail, blending religious narrative with everyday realism. ...
About the Artist
Lucas van Leyden · 1484–1533
Lucas van Leyden (1494–1533) was a Dutch painter and printmaker who stands among the greatest engravers of the Northern Renaissance. Born in Leiden as either Lucas Hugensz or Lucas Jacobsz, he lived and worked primarily in his native city, achieving international renown that rivaled the German master Albrecht Dürer. Lucas van Leyden revolutionized Netherlandish printmaking and was among the first...