Ercole de' Roberti
Italian, c. 1455–1496
Christ Crowned with Thorns
c. 1479–80
Jesus is shown with a rope knotted around his neck and a crown of thorns on his head, tears and blood trickling down his face. This stark, iconic image was intended to encourage meditation on Christ’s suffering, calling to mind his mockery and abuse at the hands of Roman soldiers. Few of Roberti’s works survive, but those that do suggest the artist’s skill in conveying and eliciting emotion.
| Medium | tempera possibly with oil on panel |
| Dimensions | 15 3/8 x 10 1/16 in. (39 x 25.5 cm) |
| Object Number | 1955.929 |
| Acquisition | Acquired by Sterling and Francine Clark before 1955 |
| Status | On View |
Image Caption
Ercole de' Roberti, Christ Crowned with Thorns, c. 1479–80, tempera possibly with oil on panel. Clark Art Institute, 1955.929
Select Bibliography
Chaffers, William. Official Catalogue of the Art Treasures Exhibition of North Wales and the Border Counties at Wrexham, opened 22nd July 1876. 2nd edition. Exhibition catalogue. London: Dryden Press, 1876.
Sterling and Francine Clark Art Institute. Exhibit Eight: 15th and 16th Century Paintings. Exhibition catalogue. Williamstown, MA: Sterling and Francine Clark Art Institute, 1957.
Sterling and Francine Clark Art Institute. Exhibit Fifteen: Italian Paintings and Drawings. Exhibition catalogue. Williamstown, MA: Sterling and Francine Clark Art Institute, 1961.
Borenius, Tancred. "On Some Unpublished North Italian Pictures." Burlington Magazine for Connoisseurs 30, no. 167 (February 1917): 68–73.
Suida, William. Leonardo und sein Kreis. Munich: F. Bruckmann, 1929.
Berenson, Bernard. Italian Pictures of the Renaissance: a List of the Principal Artists and Their Works with an Index of PlacesVenetian School. London: Phaidon Press, 1957.
Sterling and Francine Clark Art Institute. List of Paintings in the Sterling and Francine Clark Art Institute. Williamstown, MA: Sterling and Francine Clark Art Institute, 1970.
Sterling and Francine Clark Art Institute. List of Paintings in the Sterling & Francine Clark Art Institute. Williamstown, MA: Sterling and Francine Clark Art Institute, 1972.
Sterling and Francine Clark Art Institute. List of Paintings in the Sterling and Francine Clark Art Institute. Williamstown, MA: Sterling and Francine Clark Art Institute, 1984.
Manca, Joseph. The Art of Ercole de' Roberti. Cambridge: Cambridge University Press, 1992.
Kern, Steven, ed. List of Paintings in the Sterling and Francine Clark Art Institute. Williamstown, MA: Sterling and Francine Clark Art Institute, 1992.
Hediger, Christine, ed. "Tout le temps du veneour est sanz oyseuseté": Mélanges offerts à Yves Christe pour son 65ème anniversaire. Belgium: Brepols Publishers, 2005.
Polley, Robert L., ed. Great Art Treasures in America's Smaller Museums. Text by Harold E. Haydon. New York: Putnam's, 1967.
