Description
Christ is depicted seated. His wrists are tied by a thin rope while His legs are free. His naked body is only covered by the perizonium tied around His waist. The cloak has fallen from His shoulders and now rests on the rock, forming an entanglement of folds.
His head is slightly tilted. He wears the crown of thorns. His long hair falls as heavy curls on His back and around His face. His features are delicate and regular, we can still see His beard. His almond shaped eyes are closed. Resignation can be read on His face.
In Christian art this iconography is rarer than the Coronation of Christ with the crown of thorns. The Pensive Christ or Christ of Pity represents Jesus after He walked up Calvary and awaits with resignation His last ordeal.
The depiction does not originate in the Gospels but rather from the reflexions around the Scruptures. This iconography accompanies a specific devotion growing in Europe during the 15th century.