The Flagellation of Christ

The arrangement of the architectural elements in The Flagellation of Christ are comparable to many of the frescoes in Assisi; especially the Saint Peter cycle and the Evangelist portraits in the vault of the Upper Church.

This panel depicts one of the key moments of the Passion. Prior to being condemned to death by crucifixion, Christ was tied to a column and whipped by Roman soldiers. While Christ and his punishers occupy the foreground, the background is dominated by gold (reflecting his Byzantine heritage), with the two towers representing the architecture of ancient Jerusalem. The placement of the figures and the architectural elements demonstrate Cimabue's experimentation with illusionistic spatial effects, even if he would never fully master creating the full illusion of perspective. 

This tempera on poplar panel is the only work by Cimabue in a public collection in the United States. It was purchased for the Frick collection in 1950.