Agony in the Garden (Mantegna, London)

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Agony in the Garden
Andrea Mantegna 036.jpg
Artist Andrea Mantegna
Year1455–56
MediumEgg tempera on wood
Dimensions62.9 cm× 80 cm(24.8 in× 31 in)
Location National Gallery, London
AccessionNG1417

The Agony in the Garden 1455-1456 is a painting by the Italian artist Andrea Mantegna. [1] It is in the Main Collection at the National Gallery in London. Christ (center) is praying before a group of cherubs (upper left) who are holding the instruments of his torture and death. Judas, the disciple who betrayed Christ, leads a group of soldiers (center right) from Jerusalem to arrest him. Meanwhile Christ's disciples Peter, James and John sleep (bottom). [2]

Mantegna's brother-in-law, Renaissance artist Giovanni Bellini, is considered to have been inspired by this painting for his own rendering of Agony in the Garden, painted between 1460 and 1465. Both paintings are conserved at the National Gallery in London.

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The Agony in the Garden is an early painting by the Italian Renaissance master Giovanni Bellini, who painted it around 1458-60. It is in the National Gallery, London. It is painted in egg tempera on wood panel, measuring 80.4cm by 127cm. The painting depicts a biblical scene following the Last Supper wherein Judas has betrayed Christ and now pursues him where he prays in the Garden of Gethsemane, accompanied by the disciples Peter, James, and John. The piece bears visual similarity to the version by Andrea Mantegna, Bellini's brother-in-law, meaning the two paintings are often studied in the context of one another. The painting utilizes many common elements of Renaissance symbolism in order to foreshadow Christ's crucifixion and the presence of God in the piece.

References

  1. Boeck, Elena N. (2021-04-29). The Bronze Horseman of Justinian in Constantinople: The Cross-Cultural Biography of a Mediterranean Monument. Cambridge University Press. p. 350. ISBN   978-1-108-18706-0.
  2. "Andrea Mantegna | The Agony in the Garden | NG1417 | National Gallery, London". The National Gallery. On webpage use menu to open flyout box for Key Facts, Description, or to Download Image. Retrieved January 7, 2024.