Christ on Trial before the People
1874–1878
- Bronze. 195 x 71 x 61
- Ск-452
Пост. в 1897 году из Эрмитажа
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Location in museum
The Mikhailovsky Palace,
Room 32
Open the panorama of the hall in the virtual tour
- Period Late 19th century
- CategoryBiblical Subject
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Antokolsky’s work was influenced by revolutionary and democratic ideas of the 1860s and was directly associated with the Wanderers’ movement. Whether it was by sculpting biblical themes, the Gospel stories or subjects from the Russian history, Antokolsky’s works always excited his contemporaries by their actual problems.
Antokolsky represented Christ in accordance to his convictions as a democrat.
Antokolsky depicted a Man in pain for the good cause: for the sake of the people. With this statue, the sculptor represented the Christ as a historical figure, a reformer, who stands against the Pharisee and the Sadducee. Christ is depicted in a calm posture with his hands tied behind his back. Christ wears a striped robe, an eastern hat and sandals. These trivial details destroyed the traditional image of Christ established by the canonical art of the previous times. According to the sculptor, his representation of Christ made the impression that he could “appear in the 19th century”.