“I find no crime in this man.”
I’ve always been fascinated by the figure of Pontius Pilate. Unlike the Jewish leaders, Pilate was a layered figure, conflicted.
In this painting we see a man whose inner turmoil has not left his face, even as he tries to wash himself of responsibility of something he knew to be wrong. He avoids eye contact with us, just as he avoids accountability for his actions.
But this painting does not allow us to point accusatory fingers at Pilate, for a moralising figure peers directly at us from behind the curtain, reminding us that we are indeed partakers in this betrayal through our own sin.
