The emphasis on physical suffering and the living empathy of the worshiper made the plot popular in Western art, ecclesiastical and secular, back in the 13th century. However, the depiction of physical torments was not characteristic of traditional Russian iconography: in the Orthodox system of beliefs, the image of Christ is primarily a celebration of the Resurrection, the Spirit and love. The theologian and church historian Vladimir Nikolaevich Lossky saw the task of the Russian icon painter as “to be able to recognize victory under the appearance of defeat, the power of God, which is fulfilled in infirmity.”
Western European motifs began to influence Russian art in the 17th–18th centuries, which was greatly facilitated by the reforms of Peter the Great. Only in the second half of the 17th century in the iconostases of Russian churches, the “Passion tier” appeared over the Feasts tier. The first icons dedicated to “The Crowning with Thorns” theme were painted in that period as well, but the crown itself on them serves the role of a conditional attribute rather than a source of torment. In the 19th century, thanks to the strengthening of the Russian Ecclesiastical Mission in the Holy Land (in Jerusalem), people had the opportunity to see firsthand the places of the gospel events, which enhanced the believers’ sensory perception, and the plot of the “Crowning” became especially popular.
On the presented miniature-icon, Jesus is depicted surrounded by mocking warriors in helmets and cuirasses: one of them places a thorn crown on the Savior’s head, another puts a spear in His hand, the third one kneels. The figure of Christ in a red robe is lost between the bright clothes of the torturers.
Doctor of Historical Sciences Nikolay Nikolayevich Lisovoy notes that Roman law did not include mockery of those sentenced to execution. He finds the explanation for this episode precisely in the fact that Christ was declared the “King of the Jews” and the soldiers showed contempt for the entire Jewish people with their outrageous behavior.
The icon was painted by Palekh artists for the Vladimir Chapel of the Nativity Church in Balakhna. The monument entered the museum for permanent storage on February 28, 1977. In 1993, it was restored under the leadership of Valery Fyodorovich Kosushkin in the Interregional Scientific and Restoration Art Department.
