The Passion: The Agony in the Garden

c. 1480

The Passion: The Agony in the Garden, c. 1480. Martin Schongauer (German, c.1450–1491). Engraving; The Cleveland Museum of Art, Gift of The Print Club of Cleveland 1922.91 Martin Schongauer's series of the Passion of Christ was his largest set of engravings, made around 1480, and extensively copied across Europe. It consists of twelve prints detailing the suffering of Christ in the last days of his life. Schongauer's version focuses on crowded scenes, grotesque physiognomies of Christ's tormentors, and great pathos in the compositions. Here, Jesus kneels in prayer in the Garden of Olives and looks up at a hovering angels. The apostles Peter, James, and John are sleeping in the foreground. In the background, Judas holds the bag of money received in exchange for his betrayal as he leads Roman soldiers towards Christ. Martin Schongauer achieved great effects of depth and tonal variation in the rendering of the central rock formation, which mimics the posture of Christ.