Christ Accused by the Pharisees (sene 12)

The picture shows one of the 26 narrative scenes from the Stories of the Passion on the reverse side of the Maestà. It is situated in the bottom row on the right side above the scene of Pilate’s First Interrogation of Christ.

The surroundings for the scenes in which Pilate appears (Christ Accused by the Pharisees and Pilate’s First Interrogation of Christ) are new since the events take place in the governor’s palace. The slender spiral columns of white marble and the decoration carved along the top of the walls seem to refer to classical architecture. Pilate too, portrayed with the solemnity of a Roman emperor and crowned with a laurel wreath, evokes the world of classical antiquity. It is interesting to note how the latter’s face still bears the slashings caused by medieval religious fervour. The function of the beams placed on the capitals supporting a light and apparently unstable wooden roof is harder to explain.

As in the gospel, the group of Pharisees, animated by lively gestures (again the hand with pointing finger), is depicted outside the building: the Jews avoid going inside in order not to be defiled and to be able to eat the Passover meal. In the upper scene, an overwhelming aura of solitude surrounds Christ.