Christ Presented to the People

Christ Presented to the People, also known as Ostentatio Christi or Ecce Homo, is a drypoint print by Rembrandt van Rijn which exists in eight states, all c.1655.

The scene echoes contemporary judicial practice in the Netherlands, in which magistrates bearing a staff of office would present a condemned criminal to the public from a raised balcony or platform.

The last remaining impression of the first state in private hands was sold at Christie's in July 2018 from the collection of the late Samuel Josefowitz for £2.2 million, setting a record for an Old Master print.

By the fifth state, several dozen impressions have been made and the soft copper plate was showing signs of wear, and some shading is added to the windows to the right.

The wear was countered in the sixth state by significant reworking in some areas, including removing the crowd of figures in front of the central platform: only two impressions are known of this version.

Only the last two states are signed and dated above the archway to the right of the central platform ("Rembrandt f. 1655"), suggesting he may have regarded the others as only intermediate stages or artist's proofs.