Italian school; around 1630-1640."Ecce Homo".Oil on wood. CradledAdapted artwork with a 17th century ebony frame.Measures: 55 x 44 cm; 80 x 67 cm (frame).This work follows the models established by the artist Correggio "Christ presented to the people (1525-1530), which belongs to the collection of the National Gallery in London, which in turn is inspired by a work made in 1587 by Agostino Carracci. It is a painting intended for private devotion, which presents a serene Christ, not suffering, but adopting a stoic pose. On a dark neutral background, the snowy skin of Jesus stands out, bringing great luminosity to the scene, as well as the burgundy cloak and the glow of the crown of thorns. The theme of Ecce Homo belongs to the cycle of the Passion, and immediately precedes the episode of the Crucifixion. Following this iconography, Jesus is presented at the moment when the soldiers mock him, after crowning him with thorns, dressing him in a purple robe and placing a reed in his hand, kneeling down and exclaiming "Hail, King of the Jews!". The words "Ecce Homo" are those pronounced by Pilate when presenting Christ before the crowd; their translation is "behold the man", a phrase by which he mocks Jesus and implies that the power of Christ was not such in front of that of the leaders who were judging him there.The representation of Christ shows the characteristic sweetness of Correggio's style, and his gestures are highlighted by the use of a powerful illumination, which creates chiaroscuro effects derived from Leonardo's influence. Of particular importance is also the delicate chromatic work, enhanced by an atmospheric effect. Antonio Allegri da Correggio (1489 - 5), generally known as Correggio, was the foremost painter of the Parma school of the Italian High Renaissance, responsible for some of the most vigorous and sensual works of the 16th century. In his use of dynamic composition, illusionistic perspective and dramatic foreshortening, Correggio prefigured 17th-century Baroque and 18th-century Rococo art. He is considered a master of chiaroscuro. In 1503-1505 he was apprenticed to Francesco Bianchi Ferrara in Modena, where he probably became familiar with the classicism of artists such as Lorenzo Costa and Francesco Francia, evidence of which can be found in his early works. After a trip to Mantua in 1506, he returned to Correggio, where he remained until 1510. To this period is assigned the Adoration of the Child with St. Elizabeth and John, which shows clear influences of Costa and Mantegna. In 1514 he probably completed three tondos for the entrance of the church of Sant'Andrea in Mantua, and then returned to Correggio, where, as an independent and increasingly recognized artist, he signed a contract for the altarpiece of the Madonna in the local monastery of San Francesco.