PROVENANCE: Captain Henry S. Reitlinger, London, before 1950; his sale, Sotheby’s, London, December 9, 1953, lot 3 (as Cornelis Bisschop), bought by Wengraf; Mortimer Brandt, New York, 1959; BJU, 1959.

Firm attribution to Renesse has been difficult since there are so few paintings by him existing. If this is his work, it is certainly one of his finest. The column base in the lower left contains an unusual rendering of the initials CAR (Constantijn Adriaen Renesse). While there is no evidence to suggest that Renesse was actually a student of Rembrandt, there are drawings he made with notations on them telling how he showed them to Rembrandt and sought his advice.

The painting shows Pilate (robed in oriental splendor) absolving himself of Christ’s death. Christ is being forced down the stairs into the dark passageway. In the upper right corner we see the crosses being erected. The symbolic statue of blind justice looms over the scene with her scales out of balance, symbolizing the miscarriage of justice that mankind has wrought on the Savior.