The Garden of Gethsemane

The subject was drawn from the New Testament books Matthew and Luke. Christ, knowing of Judas's betrayal, went to the Garden of Gethsemane at the base of the Mount of Olives after the Last Supper, accompanied by three of his disciples, Peter, Jacob and John. There he prayed to God in his suffering; an angel gave him strength while his three disciples slept.Christ is the focal point of a triangular composition, with the three Disciples (from the left, Peter, John and Jacob) seen sleeping in the lower section. The Mannerist style can be seen in the richly varied forms and the flowing dynamism and tension in the composition. In the upper left Judas is shown leading the crowd that will arrest Christ, traditional iconography for this subject.Previously this work was thought to be a relatively early period painting dating to ca. 1545-46, but in terms of its style and an analysis of related drawings, it would seem that the work dates to the artist's final years. (Source: Masterpieces of the National Museum of Western Art, Tokyo, 2009, cat. no.17)