Luis De Morales Attributed To "ecce Homo"

Attributed to Luis de Morales. Oil on panel, "Ecce Homo," unsigned. 45.5 x 32 cm. Spanish School. Luis de Morales lived in a century marked by religious fervor bordering on fanaticism. The painter was born in southern Spain in the early 1500s, in the city of Badajoz, which was founded by the descendant of a Muwallad family—that is, Roman or Visigothic—converted to Islam. It goes without saying that after the Christians reconquered it in the early 13th century, its inhabitants devoted themselves wholeheartedly to the Catholic faith, characterized by two forms of devotion: the Passion of Christ and the Virgin Mary. Morales is best known for his paintings depicting Jesus of Nazareth, crowned with thorns and wearing a purple robe, his hands bound by a rope, holding a reed scepter. Overwhelmed, livid, and bloody, he is presented to the crowd by Pontius Pilate with the words "Ecce Homo!" (Behold the man!). The sufferings of Jesus represent the sacrifice by which Christ saves humanity from sin. If some experts of past centuries criticized Morales for excessive detail and sometimes a certain weakness in color, it was because they were not sensitive to this religious fervor. Morales, on the contrary, was a master at expressing this violence inflicted upon humanity, the sorrow, the blood, and the lividity with which Christ was afflicted. Our painting is a perfect example of the mastery displayed by the one who was nicknamed "el divino" (the divine). For indeed, Morales was among the painters of his time one of the few capable of exalting the divinity of Christ to such a degree. Naturally, the most renowned museums hold his works. 17th-century giltwood frame. Good condition. €11,500