Object Literature
This type of art had the immediacy and drama then that movies have today for modern audiences with the most humble of peasants being able to relate to what they saw, namely birth, suffering and death to their own life in their village. Ecce Homo, ‘Behold the Man’, shows Jesus stripped and brought before the people by the members of the Roman council, who are flanked by soldiers. The people mock and jeer Jesus, who wears a Crown of Thorns. His hands are bound with shackles, while the redness of the now raw flesh on his legs, hands and chest attests to the fact that he has been beaten with a scourge.
This example is particularly appealing because of the glass eyes, giving it a real edge of realism and elsewhere it is very well executed overall. Usually this type of piece would be carved in wood so this is a little unusual being in earthenware.
A beautiful little piece made by a highly skilled artist.