Christ before Pilate

Christ before Pilate — Giovanni Antonio da Brescia. 1500/05.

Medium: Engraving on paper. Dimensions: 29.1 × 31.4 cm (11 1/2 × 12 3/8 in.).

Collection record: Art Institute of Chicago, Chicago. Museum connection according to this source; current display unverified.

Giovanni Antonio da Brescia’s unusually large engraving Christ before Pilate recalls relief sculptures from the sides of Roman sarcophagi. The darkly crosshatched background creates a shallow depth of field and unifies the figural frieze. Pilate’s elevated placement and pointing finger emphasize his authoritative demeanor. The biblical text beneath his seat proclaims his unrealized intention to set Christ free; indeed, his captive’s foot seems to emerge from the picture plane. Da Brescia placed the line of sight below the horizon, creating the illusion of looking up for the viewer and thus increasing the image’s sense of monumentality.

Description: © Art Institute of Chicago, original record, CC BY 4.0. HTML formatting removed; wording retained. Other artwork metadata: CC0.

Source: official collection record. Metadata selected and normalized by Artline from the source export, accessed 10 September 2026; no museum endorsement. Reproduction rights are separate.