This painting depicts Christ praying in the Garden of Gethsemane, immediately before his arrest. The work is thought to date around 1518, in Cranach's middle period. After the Last Supper, Christ went to the Mount of Olives, accompanied by his disciples. Three of his disciples, Peter, James and John, went
This painting depicts Christ praying in the Garden of Gethsemane, immediately before his arrest. The work is thought to date around 1518, in Cranach's middle period. After the Last Supper, Christ went to the Mount of Olives, accompanied by his disciples. Three of his disciples, Peter, James and John, went with him to the Garden of Gethsemane, located at the base of the Mount, but then they left him and he prayed alone. Here Christ is seen in the middle of the composition on a slight rise on the ground. His three disciples sleep in the foreground, contrary to Christ's orders. An angel appears to the upper right of Christ, bearing a sacred chalice and Cross, while in the background a group led by Judas appears, come to arrest Christ. The darkening sky presents a strange contrast between dark clouds above and bright sunset below, alluding to Christ's suffering and the tragedy to come. The landscape depiction is reminiscent of the Danube school style, suggesting that this work is not that far removed from Cranach's early period works painted during his Viennese period. [Cat. Tokyo 2009, cat. no. 11]
- Attribution
- Lucas Cranach the Elder
Attribution
Lucas Cranach the Elder | [Exhib. Cat. Tokyo 2017, no. 19] |
- Production dates
- 1515 - 1520
after 1537
Production dates
1515 - 1520 | [Exhib. Cat. Tokyo 2017, no. 19] |
after 1537 | [Friedländer, Rosenberg 1932, no. 301a] |
- Dimensions
- Dimensions of support: 54 x 32 cm
Dimensions
Dimensions of support: 54 x 32 cm
[Exhib. Cat. Tokyo 2017, no. 19]
- Signature / Dating
Artist's insignia at the centre botton right: serpent with elevated wings, facing left
Signature / Dating
Artist's insignia at the centre botton right: serpent with elevated wings, facing left
[cda 2018]
- Owner
- The National Museum of Western Art, Tokyo
- Repository
- The National Museum of Western Art, Tokyo
- Location
- Tokyo
- CDA ID
- JP_NMWAT_P1968-0001
- FR (1978) Nr.
- FR093
- Persistent Link
- https://lucascranach.org/en/JP_NMWAT_P1968-0001/