Christ Crowned with Thornes, from The Passion of Christ, plate 14 1664

Grégoire Huret made this engraving entitled "Christ Crowned with Thorns" in France during the 17th century. Here, the Passion of Christ is translated into a scene that comments on the social structures of its own time. Notice how the jeering figures are set against an imposing architectural background. This tells us something about the structures of power in the 17th century, in which the religious and secular authorities were often intertwined. This image can be interpreted through the lens of Counter-Reformation theology, which sought to reaffirm the authority of the Catholic Church in the wake of the Protestant Reformation. By emphasizing the suffering of Christ, images like this sought to inspire piety and devotion among the faithful, and re-establish Catholic orthodoxy. Historians examine such imagery using many resources, from theological texts to archival documents, to understand the complex interplay of art, religion, and society in the early modern period.