Head of Christ (Ecce Homo)

Petrus Christus painted ‘Head of Christ (Ecce Homo)’ ca. 1445. The medium is oil on parchment laid down on wood. It measures just 5 7/8 x 4 1/4 inches. New York.

The support is parchment, not canvas. It was laid down on wood. This unusual choice hints at a link to manuscript illumination. The dimensions are remarkably small.

Bequeathed to the Metropolitan Museum of Art by Lillian S. Timken in 1959. The painting resides in the European Paintings department.

Petrus Christus was active in Bruges by 1444 and died in 1475. He was an anonymous figure for centuries, recognized later by art historians.

Metropolitan Museum of Art, New York, https://www.metmuseum.org/art/collection/search/435897

https://oolf.net/open-art/christus-head-of-christ-ecce-homo/