Oil on canvas, in a carved and gilded frame, 85cm by 109cm. Signed on the dog’s collar FT.
A depiction of the mocking of Christ by Roman soldiers before He was led to the Crucifixion.
It has been suggested that the figure in the left foreground indicating the scene, is a self portrait of Trevisani.
The painting was one of several purchased by John, 5th Earl of Exeter (1648-1700) directly from the artist.
It was purchased at the same time as PIC005, The Scourging of Christ, during the 5th Earl’s final visit to Rome in 1699-1700.
It was first recorded in the 1738 Burghley Inventory: ‘The Dressing room … Our Saviour scourging and crowned with Thorns, the Guards about him, One that is crowning him is in Armour, an old Man looking at him with a Pair of Spectacles, another deriding him, a Dog seems barking, 8 I. long 2 2/3 Foot wide.’
Trevisani was born in Slovenia, then part of the Republic of Venice and he trained in Venice, before moving to Rome, where he spent the rest of his life.
He was strongly influenced by the work of Carlo Maratta (1625-1713) and after the latter’s death, Trevisani succeeded him as the most famous, prosperous and prolific artist in Rome.
