Christ in the Hall of the High Priest
1600 - 1649. Oil on copperplate.Not on display
Steenwijck depicts the taking of Jesus in the atrium of the Pontifical Palace: Then seizing him, they led him away and took him into the house of the high priest. Peter followed at a distance. And when some there had kindled a fire in the middle of the courtyard and had sat down together, Peter sat down with them. (Luke 22: 54-55). The artist sets this Bible story of Jesus’ encounter with the soldiers in a chiaroscuro atmosphere lit by dying reddish torchlight. The rapid, nervous movement of the figures contrasts with the heavy, domed architecture and its naked walls (Text drawn from Díaz Padrón, M.: El siglo de Rubens en el Museo del Prado: catálogo razonado de pintura flamenca del siglo XVII, 1995, p. 1310).
