Christ Crowned with Thorns

Dirck van Baburen was born in Utrecht, but studied in Rome where he and fellow countryman Hendrick Terbrugghen were greatly influenced by the realism of Caravaggio. The brutality of this scene also reflects the tradition in northern Europe of rejecting idealism in favor of realism. Baburen enhances this approach by depicting the two figures at the left of the painting in 17th-century contemporary armor and dress. By doing so, he makes a connection with the 17th-century viewer's own time and reinforces the Counter Reformation's goal of increasing the dramatic, emotional and spiritual impact of the subject matter.