The Agony in the Garden

Anton Woensam, artist

before 1500–1541

The Agony in the Garden, circa 1530

Where object was made: Germany

Material/technique: oil; panel

Dimensions:
Canvas/Support (Height x Width x Depth): 79.1 x 85.1 cm
Canvas/Support (Height x Width x Depth): 31 1/8 x 33 1/2 in

Credit line: Gift from the Samuel H. Kress Study Collection

Accession number: 1960.0051

Not on display

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Label texts

The setting for this painting is the Garden of Gethsemane that lies at that base of the Mount of Olives in Jerusalem. The Mount of Olives, which is a sacred site in both Jewish and Christian traditions, is seen here as the setting for the “Agony in the Garden,” an episode of the Christian narrative concerning the last days of Jesus. As explained in the Gospels of the New Testament, Jesus went with his disciples to pray in the Garden of Gethsemane after the Last Supper. The disciples have drifted into sleep but Jesus, aware that he is soon to be arrested and sacrificed, is attentive to his prayer while an angel appears before him to give him strength. Throughout the landscape, cut trees give forth new shoots, suggesting death and resurrection, while the large, foreground, living tree suggest the wood of the cross.

Exhibition Label:
"Corpus," Apr-2012, Kris Ercums
The setting for this painting is the Garden of Gethsemane that lies at that base of the Mount of Olives in Jerusalem. The Mount of Olives, which is a sacred site in both Jewish and Christian traditions, is seen here as the setting for the “Agony in the Garden,” an episode of the Christian narrative concerning the last days of Jesus. As explained in the Gospels of the New Testament, Jesus went with his disciples to pray in the Garden of Gethsemane after the Last Supper. The disciples have drifted into sleep but Jesus, aware that he is soon to be arrested and sacrificed, is attentive to his prayer while an angel appears before him to give him strength. Throughout the landscape, cut trees give forth new shoots, suggesting death and resurrection, while the large, foreground, living tree suggest the wood of the cross.