Aertsen, Pieter

Market Scene

c. 1550; Oil on oak, 59.5 x 122.5 cm; Alte Pinakothek, Munich

The painting is an Ecce Homo fragment. Similarly to other biblical paintings of Aertsen, the biblical event takes place at the back, while the foreground is dominated by a market scene. Somewhere in the background, the picture - cut off at the top - affords a small glimpse of the platform where the masses are shouting 'Barabbas' (John 19:4-6). This is optically overlaid by the bow-shaped arrangement of carts and market stalls - a reversal of emphasis which is typical of Aertsen.