(Pieve di Cadore circa 1485/90–1576 Venice)
Ecce Homo,
oil on canvas, 126.5 x 100.5 cm, framed

Provenance:
Private European collection, since at least 1875

The present composition is closely related to the Ecce Homo in the St. Louis Art Museum (inv. 10:1963) which has generally been considered to be a late work by Titian, as well as being assigned by some scholars to Titian and his studio, even if there is some uncertainty with regard to the proportion of the master’s contribution and that of his assistants.

While there is an evident connection between the present painting and the work in St. Louis in the compact composition, charged with pathos, there is greater similarity between the painting under discussion and another two versions which are part of a series of canvases executed around 1570. The first version is in Alte Pinakothek, Munich (inv. no. 6252), on long term loan from Münsterschwarzach Abbey, while the second was formerly with Dorotheum, 20 October 2015, lot 39 (see P. Joannides The Mocking of Christ, the Recognition of Christ’s Divinity and the Ecce Homo by Titian and his studio, in: P. Humfrey (ed.), Themes and variation, Florence 2022, pp. 95–113).

In the latter two works, as in the version under discussion, a torch is held by a youth advancing on the left in the upper quadrant of the painting; additionally, on the right side of the painting, Christ’s mantle is depicted falling from his shoulder in all three versions. The present painting, which was previously unknown, can now be added to this group and is unusual for its inclusion of a ledge at the base, which seems to be a unique feature when compared the other versions.