Christ before Pilate (Ecce Homo)

This is a working design in paint. In 1634 Rembrandt was planning a large etching of Pilate showing Christ to the crowd, and he made this study in oil on paper at the full size of the print. The National Gallery calls it the only known example of such a study. When it was done, he transferred the design to the printing plate by tracing, and the pressure of the stylus left indentations that are still visible in the paper. It is painted almost entirely in browns, with thick, bright paint on the figures in front and other parts only lightly sketched. Pilate, in a turban, rises from his seat. Above the crowd stands a towering bust of the emperor Tiberius, and on the building behind, a clock points to six, the hour the Gospel of John gives for this moment.