Unlike the other sheets of the set, the “Mocking of Christ” (Pl. 47 (1))[337] takes place beneath the high, pointed vaulting of some Gothic building, with its arches open to the sky. Christ, blindfolded and with tied hands, his body covered by the robe they have placed over him, is seated in the centre, with bent head, and mouth half open with pain. One of the soldiers kneels, and thrusts the reed into his hand as a sceptre, while a second, stooping down, clutches his hair with one hand, and raises the other as though about to strike him in the face. On the left between two pillars stands a tall figure clad in a long gown, and the upper part of his face concealed by a hood of a peculiar pattern, with a hanging peak behind, such as is associated with portraits of Dante. This spectator, who is also to be seen among the crowd in the first design, has a cynical smile on his face. The whole group, which suggests a study for a work of plastic art, is shown in strong foreshortening, as though it were intended to be seen from some distance below; and the same effect is produced by the perspective of the vaulting and in the drawing of the hanging lamp, of an unusual and interesting pattern, over Christ’s head.[338] This drawing is, perhaps, the most beautiful of all, the happiest in its composition, and the most spiritual in its feeling. VOL. I., PLATE 46. [Illustration: CHRIST BEFORE CAIAPHAS The “Passion” series of designs for painted glass BASEL GALLERY ] [Illustration: THE SCOURGING OF CHRIST The “Passion” series of designs for painted glass BASEL GALLERY ] VOL. I., PLATE 47. [Illustration: THE MOCKING OF CHRIST The “Passion” series of designs for painted glass BASEL GALLERY ] [Illustration: CHRIST CROWNED WITH THORNS The “Passion” series of designs for painted glass BASEL GALLERY ] [Sidenote: THE “PASSION OF CHRIST” SERIES]