Mattias Stom, follower of, Dutch, active in Italy, 1600-after 1652
Christ Before Caiaphas, early 1630s
oil on canvas, 60 1/8 x 80 1/4 in. (152.7 x 203.9 cm)
Ackland Art Museum, The University of North Carolina at Chapel Hill
Conservation treatment for this painting, completed in 1991, was made possible by a grant from the National Endowment for the Arts
Stylized after Neapolitan painter, Caravaggio, Christ Before Caiaphas is an oil on canvas from the early 1630s believed to be painted by Dutch artist, Matthias Stom. The piece depicts a discussion between Christ and high priest, Caiaphas. Using the juxtaposition of light and shadow, Stom depicts the threshold between unity and disunity in the context of betrayel. Stom also details the dynamic between Christ and Caiaphas in the juxtaposition of bodily and facial expression. This manipulation of light and human features is both typical of the baroque movement and aids in Stom’s commentary into the transition from unity to disunity.
~Hannah Jastram
An extended look at Mattias Stom’s Christ Before Caiaphas by Hannah Jastram