- 50
Francis Newton Souza (1924-2002)
Estimate
200,000 - 300,000 USD
Log in to view results
bidding is closed
Description
- Francis Newton Souza
- Crowned Christ
- Signed and dated 'Souza 1956' upper right and signed, dated and inscribed 'F.N SOUZA/ CROWNED CHRIST - 1956/ (to go with Jesting Pilate 1956)' on reverse
- Oil on board
- 47 3/4 by 35 1/2 in. (121.3 by 90.2 cm.)
Catalogue Note
The current depiction of Christ bound by a noose and crowned with thorns is a pair to a work titled 'Jesting Pilate' painted in the same year, illustrated in Aziz Kurtha, Francis Newton Souza, 2006, p. 67. Both works comment on the active role of Pontius Pilate in the crucifixion of Jesus. 'Jesting Pilate is a frightening image of Pontius Pilate the Roman who sent Jesus Christ to die at the cross and the title seems to have been taken from a travel book about India by Aldous Huxley in which there is a quotation for the 17th century philosopher Francis Bacon which reads "What is Truth? said Jesting Pilate, and would not stay for an answer."' (Aziz Kurtha, ibid., p. 68).