Soldaten geven Christus te drinken 1510 - 1514

Lucas van Leyden created this engraving, “Soldiers Giving Christ Drink”, in the Netherlands, sometime in the first third of the 16th century. This image depicts the mocking of Christ by Roman soldiers, a common theme in art of the period, but here it takes on a particular inflection. The composition and detail are carefully rendered; look at the faces of the soldiers, their clothing and equipment, the suffering Christ, and the landscape. Lucas was working at a time when printmaking was becoming an industry and engravings such as this were made for a growing market of collectors and connoisseurs, who were interested in the technical skill of the artist as much as the religious message. The artist seems to be drawing attention to the soldiers' indifference to Christ's suffering, reflecting perhaps on the way the church and state treated ordinary people. This artwork, in the collection of the Rijksmuseum today, can tell us about the social conditions that shape artistic production if we ask the right historical questions.