 Examination of the picture has shown that in the preliminary sketch, the scene was more brutal, and the cruelty has been toned down in the final version, making the men's expressions more enigmatic.The four tormentors of Christ may show different aspects of the four humours, with phlegmatic and melancholic soldiers, and sanguine and choleric spectators.The figures are crowded together in a small space in a single plane, in a manner reminiscent of Flemish devotional art of the type popularized by Hans Memling and Hugo van der Goes.