As Caiaphas (the high priest) accuses Christ of blasphemy, the lighting and composition of this painting amplifies the intensity of their confrontation. Matthias Stom is one of a number of northern European artists who traveled to Italy and were so deeply influenced by the painter Caravaggio’s revolutionary work that they became known as “Caravaggisti” (or followers of Caravaggio). Here, Stom employed Caravaggio’s style: he heightened the emotional intensity of his painting by setting it in a darkened room lit only by candlelight; he further located the action in the foreground of the painting, a device meant to directly engage the viewer.
Permanent collection label, November 2015. Written by Tanya Paul, Isabel and Alfred Bader Curator of European Art.
