Christ Before Pilate by the Master of Cappenberg
Writer Kit de Waal seeks out a painting at the National Gallery showing Pilate washing his hands of his part in Christ’s death - and it brings back painful childhood memories.
The writer Kit de Waal grew up a Jehovah’s Witness, and it was not a happy experience for her. The painting at the National Gallery she has chosen for her Essay is the 16th-century Christ Before Pilate by the Master of Cappenberg, sometimes identified as Jan Baegert. It captures the moment when Pilate, the Roman prefect, tries to wash his hands of his part in the death of Christ. For Kit, this is a poignant reminder of the sense of not passing muster in God’s eyes which she was carrying for much of her life – and a chain of ritual disavowals running through her own family history.
For this Holy Week series, Βι¶ΉΤΌΕΔ Radio 3 has invited five people to choose a painting of Christ’s passion or resurrection at the National Gallery in London and make it the starting point for their Essay.
Image Β© National Gallery by kind permission.
The series producer is Kristine Pommert for CTVC.
Last on
Broadcast
- Tue 16 Apr 2019 22:45Βι¶ΉΤΌΕΔ Radio 3
Featured in...
![]()
Arts
Creativity, performance, debate
Death in Trieste
A 1760s murder still informs ideas about aesthetics, a certain sort of sex, and death.
Watch: My Deaf World
Five compelling experiences of what it is like to be deaf in 21st-century Britain.
The Book that Changed Me
Five figures from the arts and science introduce books that changed their lives and work.
Download The Essay
Download all the episodes from the series and listen at your leisure.
Podcast
-
![]()
The Essay
Essays from leading writers on arts, history, philosophy, science, religion and beyond.
