Compared to the Budapest Christ on the Cold Stone (4362), where Christ is the embodiment of patience and resignation to his imminent sacrifice on the cross, this Christ is the melancholy hero who expresses the depth of his anguish. Utterly alone, he contemplates his dilemma, the column behind him indicating where he will be bound and thrashed and the long, decoratively displayed cloth draped over his thighs suggesting the shroud that will be used to wrap his body after the crucifixion. Although the work is ultimately based on the famous 1st century Belvedere Torso, Gossaert may have refreshed his memory of the Roman sculpture through widely circulated prints such as Marcantonio Raimondi's signed and dated 1508 engraving Mars, Venus, and Eros. Christ's taut, exaggerated musculature and pose bear a striking resemblance to Raimondi's Mars. (http://www.metmuseum.org)