Gerard Seghers - Christ at the Column

Follower of Gerard Seghers (1591-1651)

Christ at the Column

oil on wood panel
c. 1700s
unframed 19.5 × 14 cm

Provenance:
Originally in the collection of Dr. Axel Munthe (1857–1949), the renowned Swedish physician and author celebrated for his philanthropic work and for founding Villa San Michele on the island of Capri. In the late 19th century, Munthe presented the painting as a personal gift to his close friend Prince Eugen, Duke of Närke (1865–1947), a prominent Swedish artist and patron of the arts. The painting remained in Prince Eugen’s private collection until he, in turn, entrusted it to Dr. Gustaf Lindgren (1903–1989), who served as curator of the Prince’s art collection from 1938 to 1948. Lindgren subsequently became the first Director General of Prince Eugen’s Waldemarsudde, a position he held until 1970.

Condition: Very good, restored in 2023 by Sonia Leon, Stockholm
Framed in handmade oak frame by Christer Björkman, 2023.

Essay:
This small yet striking oil painting on panel presents a solitary image of the scourged Christ, bound with his hands behind his back, his figure isolated against a dark, undefined background. His pale, sinewy body bears numerous wounds from the flagellation, from which blood runs in delicate but insistent streams, trailing down his torso and legs to the ground below. The column to which Christ would traditionally be tied is absent here, allowing the viewer's focus to rest entirely on the emotional weight of the figure itself. The composition, heightened by dramatic lighting, conveys both the physical and spiritual torment of the Passion with poignant intensity.

The subject—Christ at the Column—derives from the episode of the Flagellation, one of the most emotionally resonant scenes in the Passion narrative. Frequently represented in both public and private devotional imagery, this moment captures the suffering of Christ at the hands of Roman soldiers, as described in the Gospels. In the context of Catholic devotion, the scene has long served as an instrument of contemplation, representing the redemptive suffering of Christ and inviting empathetic meditation on human sin and divine sacrifice.

The painting is attributed to a follower of the Flemish Baroque master Gerard Seghers (1591–1651), whose career bridged the artistic currents of Caravaggio’s tenebrism and the coloristic refinement of Rubens. Seghers’s composition of Christ at the Column, likely painted in the 1620s, became widely known through a powerful engraving by Lucas Vorsterman the Elder. That print helped to circulate Seghers’s emotionally charged vision, inspiring a number of interpretations and copies by artists in his circle.

This particular version appears to be derived not from the original painting but from Vorsterman’s engraving, which likewise omits the architectural element of the column in favor of a stark, devotional focus on the bound figure of Christ. A closely related copy of similar dimensions on copper, held in the Musée des Beaux-Arts in Tournai, shares this compositional simplification. The absence of the column, together with the panel’s intimate scale and austere backdrop, intensifies the spiritual directness of the image.

Following a recent conservation by Sonia Leon in 2023, the painting is now preserved in good condition and housed in a bespoke oak frame handcrafted by Swedish frame maker Christer Björkman. Its compact size and contemplative subject mark it as a refined object of private devotion, while its lineage and craftsmanship underscore its cultural and historical significance.