Pilate Washing His Hands

Pilate, the Roman prefect of Judea, washes his hands as armed henchmen lead the bound Christ away. Pilate is attempting to remove the moral stain on his conscience left by his having knowingly allowed the rabble to free the criminal Barabbas while sending Christ to his death. In an act that reinforces the finality of the unjust decision, one of the guards looks back over his shoulder to confirm that Pilate has indeed washed his hands of the affair. This is a proof printed prior to the regular edition of Albrecht Dürer’s Small Passion, a book in which he visually narrated key stories of the life of Christ.