The gospels are by no means unanimous in their account of the events that occurred between the arrest of Christ in the garden of Gethsemane and the moment that he was led away to be crucified. Taken together they can be made to form a continuous sequence in which he appears before no less than four judges in turn—in the case of Pilate, twice. All are represented in art' sometimes forming part of the cycle of scenes of the Passion.
-
Christ brought before Annas (John 18:12–23). Annas was the father-in-law of the high priest Caiaphas. Christ was brought before him bound, and was questioned about his teaching. He was afterwards sent on to Caiaphas. Christ stands before Annas with his hands tied. One of the guards with upraised arm is about to strike him. The scene is fairly rare and not easily distinguished from the next. According to John it was in the courtyard of the house of Annas that Peter thrice denied Christ, but the synoptic gospels place the episode at the house of Caiaphas.
-
Christ before Caiaphas (Matt. 26:57–68; Mark 14:53–65; Luke 22:66–71). Christ's answer to Caiaphas that he was the awaited Messiah and the Son of God constituted blasphemy in Jewish law and was punishable by death, a sentence which under the Romans the Sanhedrin was not empowered to carry out. The scene before Caiaphas depicts the moment when 'the High Priest tore his robes and exclaimed, "Blasphemy!" ' He is generally depicted baring his breast. A second high priest seated beside Caiaphas may be Annas whom Luke, in another context (3:2), refers to as jointly holding office with him. Christ stands with his hands tied, surrounded by armed soldiers. As in the previous scene one of them is about to strike him. Then followed the Mocking of Christ, treated in art as a separate theme.
-
Christ before Herod. Having been condemned by the Jewish court Christ was handed over to the civil authority for trial. Pontius Pilate, the governor of Judaea who was in Jerusalem for the Passover, examined him and finding no case to answer remitted him to Herod Antipas, the tetrarch of Galilee, who likewise happened to be in the city. (Luke 23:8–12). Herod questioned him eagerly 'hoping to see some miracle,' but Christ declined to reply. 'Then Herod and his troops treated him with contempt and ridicule, and sent him back to Pilate dressed in a gorgeous robe.' Herod wears a crown and is seated on a throne. Christ is before him. Behind stand a group of soldiers and bearded Jewish elders. A bystander brings the white garment that Christ is to wear.
-
Christ before Pilate (Matt. 27:11–26; Mark 15:2–15; Luke 23:13–25; John 18:28–40). Having questioned Christ further and found him innocent of any civil crime Pilate would have released him but for the clamor of the Jews that he be put to death. Pilate's wife sent her husband a message, 'Have nothing to do with that innocent man . . .' It was the custom at the Passover for the governor to release a prisoner chosen by the people, so Pilate asked them should he free Barabbas, a man imprisoned for rebellion and murder, or Christ. The mob, by now threatening violence, shouted for Barabbas, and for Christ to be crucified. Pilate, fearing a riot, gave way, but thereupon washed his hands in public to signify his refusal to be morally implicated in the decision. The theme is known in Christian art from the 4th cent. onwards. The scene is an open courtyard, or judgment hall, outside the governor's house. (According to John the Jews stayed outside to avoid defilement since the Passover was not yet eaten.) Pilate sits on a dais on the seat of judgment. In some early examples he wears a crown of bay leaves - the emblem of Roman authority. The motto, 'Senatus populusque Romanus', may be seen on the entablature of a colonnade, or abbreviated, 'S.P.Q.R.', on the standard of a soldier guarding Christ. Christ himself stands before Pilate, bound by the wrists as in previous scenes. A group of Jewish elders are arguing their case vehemently. The messenger sent by Pilate's wife may be speaking into his ear or the woman herself may be present. Barabbas seldom features. When he does it is to be led from his cell or borne forward by the guards into the view of the people.
-
Pilate washing his hands. Pilate's symbolic gesture may form part of the previous scene but is more usually depicted as a separate episode. An attendant kneels before him holding a bowl, or pours water from a pitcher over his hands. In the background Christ is being led away. He was next scourged and crowned with thorns—cf. The Flagellation; Crowning with Thorns; Ecce Homo. The bowl, pitcher and towel are among the instruments of the Passion.
James Hall, Dictionary of Subjects and Symbols in Art, New York: Harper & Row, rev. ed. 1979