Although he wasn’t a Christian, Redon was attracted to the figure of Christ, especially because of the dual essence ascribed to him: both human and divine. Redon's multiple treatments of Christ crowned with thorns are haunting and mystical in a way that was unprecedented. ...the thorns maintain an active presence. They are not a passive ornament..... The thorns—“glinting like so many blades,”(Heidinger’s words) attack Christ from various angles. The most dynamic element of the portrait, Heidinger notes, is the diagonal that seems to spear the left side of Christ’s forehead and exit underneath his right ear, giving the impression that he is being skewered. ...the eyes are extraordinarily expressive, deep wells of emotion. Here, they gaze upward, not outward. This could indicate a silent plea to the Father to make it stop, or else an anticipation of being reunited with him. (https://artandtheology.org/2016/03/22/christ-crowned-with-thorns-interpreted-by-symbolist-artist-odilon-redon/)