Plaque: Christ Crowned with Thorns

This enamel may have originally been part of a pair (with 2005.4.01) or part of a larger altarpiece. Although the two plaques were painted by different hands, analysis of the blue enamel in each plaque reveals that they were made in the same workshop and at about the same time. Both depict an episode from the Passion of Christ. In The Agony in the Garden, Jesus kneels in prayer while the saints Peter, John, and James sleep in the foreground. The emphasis is on Jesus’ impending arrest, with Judas and an army approaching on a grassy path painted in a rich blue-green. In the Christ Crowned with Thorns enamel, two tormentors use their weapons to drive the crown of thorns into Christ’s head while a third mocks Christ by placing a reed in his hand as if it were a scepter. The plaques’ monochro­matic palette, dominated by white and gray tones, recalls early enamels in grisaille (a technique using shades of gray) by Pierre Reymond.

Source: Vignon, Charlotte. The Frick Collection Decorative Arts Handbook. New York: The Frick Collection/Scala, 2015.