This life-size depiction of Christ at the column is one of the earliest works by Jan Lievens, described in 1641 by the Leiden chronicler Jan Orlers as a ‘wunderkind’. Rembrandt and Lievens were close friends in the years 1624/25-31 and they competed with one another in their striving for stylistic and technical innovation. The picture was executed around 1625 at a time when Lievens´ work served as a model for the less experienced Rembrandt. The dealer initially did not want to sell this work to us as he figured it should go to a major museum like the Getty; we bought it anyway.