The Crown of Thorns

Jesus’ Crown of Thorns has become one of the most ubiquitous features of Christian religious art, but was the original crown of history anything like the crown of popular medieval art and piety? When thinking about art, the image that springs to mind is that of a bloodied, beaten Jesus, wearing a cruelly fashioned, woven crown made of sharp thorns. However, this image is deeply misleading, based on a fundamental misunderstanding of the Gospels.

Faith Tibble rectifies this misunderstanding, showing how The Crown of Thorns underwent a yet unrecognized artistic evolution. Tibble tracks the artistic progression of the Crown of Thorns from it's first depiction in the 4th century, until the 11th century, when it begins to exhibit the artistic trends that are still recognizable today.

In doing so, Tibble adds new perspective to our understanding of the ideologies associated with medieval Christianity - victory, humility, perseverance - and how those ideologies are exemplified in depictions of the Crown of Thorns. She demonstrates how a simple textual misinterpretation led to a different understanding of the Gospels, and an unexpected trajectory for European art - with profound and unintended consequences.