The work represents pontius pilate washing his hands as a symbol of his innocence in the death sentence of jesus christ, since it was the jews who had desired his death. Among the commissions made by correa for the former bernardine monastery of san martín de valdeiglesias, there is a group of three panels with scenes related to the cycle of the passion of christ, made in circular compositions that, due to their great stylistic similarities, probably must have belonged to the same group. These three tables represent three successive stories: pilate washing his hands, the crowning with thorns (p00669) and an ecce homo (p00670). The episode captured in this table of pilate washing his hands is narrated in the gospel of saint matthew (27, 24-25) and is also recorded in the apocryphal gospel of nicodemus (ix, 4). The soldier who points at jesus with an accusatory gesture stands out in the foreground; he is dressed in an ocher leather helmet and breastplate, decorated in the roman style, a model taken from juan de borgoña, which correa repeats in his companion panels, and also widely used by the painter in other compositions throughout his entire production. In the center stands out the figure of another soldier with a hirsute face and gray beard, with a halberd and blued armor, holding the rope with which they have captured christ. Correa represents the savior crowned with thorns, with a cruciferous nimbus and with the rope around his neck, as far as the drops of blood produced by the thorns reach; his downcast countenance denotes a submissive expression, acceptance of the divine plan. Next to jesus, behind him, stands an old man with very fine features and a sad expression, wearing a cap and covered with a red cloak, who probably represents one of his followers. The different textures of the clothing, velvet, wool and leather, as well as the different finishes of the metals are made with great skill, as are the flesh, hair and other details. The play of light and shadow highlights all the qualities and leaves the scene in darkness, which took place in the palace of the roman procurator, of which in the background you can barely distinguish a veil as a curtain gathered on the left, behind the court, and on the right a column and part of an arch (text extracted from cortes hernández, s.;ocaña rodríguez, e. In: juan correa de vivar, c. 1510-1566. Master of the spanish renaissance, 2010). Object Type: painting. Date: between 1540 and 1545. Dimensions: 87 × 87 cm (34.2 × 34.2 in). Medium: tempera on pine wood. Collection: Museo del Prado. Pilatos lavándose las manos, por Juan Correa de Vivar
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