The Flagellation of Christ, with floggers on either side and figures watching from a balcony above in the background

Art Historical Context

Created in 1593, *The Flagellation of Christ* captures a pivotal moment from the Passion narrative, showing Christ bound and scourged by two tormentors while onlookers observe from an elevated balcony. This large engraving was designed by the Roman Mannerist painter Giuseppe Cesari, known asaliere d’Arpino, whose elegant, elongated figures and theatrical staging reflect the late-Renaissance taste for dramatic narrative and refined movement. The print was skillfully engraved by Aegidius Sadeler II and published by Nicolaus van Aelst, allowing the composition to circulate widely beyond Rome. Engravings such as this played a vital cultural role in the late sixteenth century, translating paintings into affordable, transportable images that reached collectors, artists, and devotional audiences across Europe. The crisp line work and careful modulation of tone demonstrate the technical sophistication of Northern engravers working after Italian designs, bridging regional artistic traditions. Measuring over twenty-one inches in height, the sheet’s impressive scale further underscores its ambition to convey both devotional intensity and artistic prestige. Today in the Metropolitan Museum’s collection, the print exemplifies how Mannerist imagery and printmaking together shaped religious devotion and visual culture at the turn of the seventeenth century.

About the Artist

Nicolaus van Aelst|Aegidius Sadeler II|Cavaliere d'Arpino (Giuseppe Cesari) · 1525–1615

Flemish, Brussels 1526–1613 Rome|