Ecce Homo (Caravaggio, Madrid)

Ecce Homo is a painting of 1605–1609, attributed to Michelangelo Merisi de Caravaggio. It depicts the ecce homo. At the beginning of an auction in April 2021, the painting was attributed to an associate of Jusepe de Ribera; the auction was halted after the Spanish government was notified of the possibility that the painting was by Caravaggio. It is now in the Museo del Prado in Madrid.

Description
The artwork depicts Christ and Pontius Pilate in a scene of the ecce homo, a passage in the Bible during which Christ is presented to crowds before his crucifixion. Christ is shown bleeding and wearing a crown of thorns. Pilate is in front of him; another man holds a red robe behind Christ. The painting measures 86 by 111 cm.

History
The painting is believed to have been executed from 1605 to 1609. It was brought from Italy to Spain in the same century, where it is believed to have remained in the Spanish royal collection, before being sold or given to the politician Evaristo Pérez de Castro during the French invasion of Spain in the Peninsular War, after which it remained in his family's collection in Madrid. The family put the painting up for auction in April 2021 for €1500, where it was attributed to an associate of Jusepe de Ribera. The Spanish government then halted the auction after being notified by art experts of the possibility that the painting was the work of Caravaggio. It was placed on display in the Museo del Prado in Madrid on 27 May 2024.

Attribution
While it was being auctioned, the Ecce Homo was attributed to an unknown artist associated with Ribera, who mimicked Caravaggio's style of painting. It is now mainly attributed to Caravaggio, an Italian painter who died in 1610. The artwork has been identified as his due to details such as brush strokes, the painting's size, and its similarity to other works by Caravaggio. Maria Cristina Terzaghi, an art history professor at Roma Tre University, cited Christ's head and torso and the "three-dimensional nature of the three figures" in the painting as evidence for Caravaggio's authorship. Terzaghi found the color of the robe in the painting to be similar to that in Caravaggio's Salome with the Head of John the Baptist; she also found this work similar to others by Caravaggio such as the Madonna of the Rosary. The painting's attribution has been disputed by some scholars such as Nicola Spinosa, who believes that the artwork was painted in Caravaggio's style, but is not an authentic work of his.