The Agony in the Garden

After the Last Supper, Jesus withdrew to pray for the strength to accept his fate, accompanied by a number of his apostles. They fell asleep, leaving him to struggle alone. Cremonini has grouped the figures on opposite sides of a diagonal embankment, stark contrasts of light and dark underscoring their poignant separation. Angels present Christ with a cross, nails, and a crown of thorns, foreshadowing his Crucifixion, depicted on the opposite side of this panel.

Image Caption

Giovanni Battista Cremonini, The Agony in the Garden, c. 1595, oil on copper. Clark Art Institute, Acquired by the Clark, 2010.5 recto

Provenance

Private collection, Italy