The Hermitage painting dates from the closing years of Titian's long creative life, a time when the artist chose religious subjects with particular frequency. This image of Christ derives from Byzantine iconography: the Pantocrator raises His right hand in a gesture of blessing, while His left holds a crystal orb, the symbol of power over the world. While it retains the majesty and spiritual might of its Byzantine prototypes, the image of Christ that Titian produced is profoundly human. The painting with its restrained colour scheme is impressive for the energetic working of the main colours - red and blue, for the subtle tonal transitions in the illumination of the face and for the virtuoso depiction of detail - a few precise brushstrokes convey the transparency and the convex shape of the crystal orb. Like Mary Magdalene, Christ Pantocrator was purchased from Titian's son by Cristoforo Barbarigo. In 1850 the Barbarigo collection was bought for the Hermitage.