12251

The Mocking of Christ 1918

The figure of Christ standing against a column to which he is tied by a rope, with three soldiers casting dice at a table to the right, the crown of thorns, a red cloak and a staff on the ground before him

Pencil and watercolour on paper, 53.5 x 36cm (21 x 14 in.)

Indistinctly inscribed lower left: Have faith in love / Justice will prevail / P.A. de László 1918. I. 18. Islington. London. [red ink]

Indistinctly inscribed verso: painted in my ... 6 Expression / at Islington Camp / 1918. I. / PA de L

Private Collection

From the day of his arrest on 21 September 1917, until February 1918, de László was denied his oil paints and canvases. At Islington Internment Camp he was permitted to use watercolours and painted a number of religious studies and still lifes on paper and card. These include the Lamentation of Christ [11989] and a small study on wood panel of Christ on the Cross as well as a study of Christ in Gethsemane before the Crucifixion [8829]. They reveal much about the artist’s state of mind during his confinement and were an important outlet for his creative energy. A preparatory sketch for this work [111663] in graphite on lined paper remained in the collection of the artist until his death, as did the present work.

De László identified with Christ’s innocence and the cruelty of his arrest and imprisonment. He reconnected with his faith during his internment and wrote in his diary 6 August 1918: “In the restless past I scarcely ever had the opportunity to pass so much time in meditation as I do now. It is a great help to me. Only now do I realize how much the Almighty has granted me.  In my adversity and solitude I have learnt to understand much. It is a warning for the future to live more wisely, and to appreciate what I possess in love and gifts.”^[1] 

The present picture is depicted in a group portrait of the artist, Lucy and his eldest son Henry [10491] painted by de László in September 1918,^[2] when he was still recovering in the nursing home at Notting Hill. This watercolour hangs on the wall, clearly visible, behind the family. Another reference is made to the painting on the verso of a portrait drawing of the artist's youngest son, John [11977], who sat studying the watercolour as he was being drawn: John was sitting opposite Philip’s beautiful grey silver picture / of Christ & and the soldiers – suddenly he asked “Daddy / how which coulour [sic] do you mix, to make it look like iron” / (meaning the steel). John 5&¾ years. 13 July 1918 on which / day the drawing was finished & on which I write this – his mother.

In his Memoirs^[3] de László recalls the tremendous impact of seeing, at the age of twelve, the painting of Christ before Pilate by his artistic mentor and fellow Hungarian, Mihály Munkácsy (1844-1901): “I can find no words, and I will not even try to describe what this young boy felt in his heart and soul. He stood there rooted to the ground in front of this work, quite oblivious of his surroundings. There was Christ, with his god-like expression, submitting to his earthly fate. There stood the Son of God in full knowledge of his divine mission in front of the Roman pro-consul Pilate, who hands him over to his Jewish accusers. I trembled before this great scene which I did not fully understand; yet in my childish soul I felt its whole artistic worth.”

The emotion de László experienced in his youth on seeing Munkácsy’s painting may well have contributed to the present work some thirty-seven years later.

PROVENANCE:

In the possession of the artist on his death;

By descent

LITERATURE:

•De Laszlo, Sandra, ed., & Christopher Wentworth-Stanley, asst. ed., A Brush with Grandeur, Paul Holberton publishing, London 2004, p. 147, fig. 74

•Hart-Davis, Duff, in collaboration with Caroline Corbeau-Parsons, De László: His Life and Art, Yale University Press, 2010, p. 167-168

•László, Lucy de, 1918 diary, private collection, 10 August entry

SMdeL & KF 2016