Geseling van Christus

This dramatic engraving shows the Flagellation of Christ within a darkened, classical architectural space. Christ is positioned on the left in a twisted pose, surrounded by tormentors whose muscular forms and dynamic movements reflect the high Mannerist style. In the background, torches and smoke illuminate a secondary group of figures, heightening the tension and violence of the narrative.

Created by Aegidius Sadeler, the court engraver to Holy Roman Emperor Rudolf II, this work represents the sophisticated printmaking culture of Prague around 1600. In the Rudolfine circle, the suffering of Christ was sometimes interpreted through the lens of late-Renaissance Stoicism and the 'Great Work' of spiritual transformation, where physical suffering parallels the purification of the soul.