Pilate's court 

Wilhelm Kotarbinski painted ‘Pilate’s Court’ in the late 19th or early 20th century. It depicts the Biblical scene in which Pontius Pilate condemns Christ to crucifixion. Looking at this painting, the cultural references tell us a great deal about its meaning. Consider the way Christ is presented: meek, humble, almost ethereal. And then consider Pilate: a picture of worldy authority, seated high on his throne. The painting reproduces a contrast that was very familiar to audiences in the artist’s time and place. Kotarbinski was Polish and he lived at a time when Poland was divided and occupied by foreign empires. Polish culture was dominated by a sense of national victimhood that was closely linked to Christian imagery, and in particular to the Passion. There is a great deal more that we could say about this image but it needs to be based on research into the political history of Poland and the cultural history of its artistic institutions. Only then can we truly understand the image.