of this world, his servants
would deliver him from his enemies. As the ruler of a heavenly
kingdom, he was born "to bear witness unto the truth."

The rich mantle, which the soldiers have mockingly thrown over his
shoulders, falls away and shows the body as it had been bared for the
scourging. It is a beautiful form, perfectly developed, and the arms
and hands are as delicately modelled as a woman's. The face is oval,
with regular features of classic mould, a short parted beard, and long
hair falling in disordered curls about it. This is the typical face of
Christ, as it has been handed down from generation to generation since
early in the Christian era. The rude pictures in the catacombs are on
the same model. So faithfully has the type been followed through the
centuries, some believe that the original must have been an authentic
likeness.[25]

[Footnote 25: See _Rex Regum_, by Sir Wyke Bayliss.]

The mother Mary is still young and beautiful. As the great
Michelangelo said, "Purity enjoys eternal youth."[26] A heavy veil or
mantle is draped over her head, framing the pure profile of her face.
This form of drapery is common among the old masters in painting Mary
as _Mater Dolorosa_, or the Sorrowing Mother.

[Footnote 26: See the volume on Michelangelo in the _Riverside Art
Series_, page 35.]

Artistically considered, this figure of the fainting mother is the
finest thing in the picture. Her companion, probably Mary Magdalene,
is also a lovely creature, though we see only a part of her face.

The subject is in tragic contrast to the illustrations we have just
been studying. It seems strange to connect this Man of Sorrows with
the happy boy we saw by the woodland spring, or this grief-stricken
woman with that proud young mother. Correggio himself, we know, shrank
from such sad themes.

Like the picture of The Marriage of St. Catherine, our illustration
shows how skilfully Correggio painted hands. The drooping fingers of
the Saviour taper delicately, with long almond-shaped nails. Pilate's
hand has slender, flexible fingers like those of some dainty woman,
and might be mated with that of Mary Magdalene. It is apparent that
the study of hands and feet interested our painter more than that of
faces. We shall lose much in his pictures if we do not give special
attention to these features. In the case before us, the face of Christ
must be less attractive, on account of the sorrowful expression. To
make up, as it wer