Christ on the Mount of Olives (Caravaggio)

Christ on the Mount of Olives
Christ on the Mount of Olives
Italian: Cristo nell'orto degli ulivi
Artist	Caravaggio
Year	c. 1605
Medium	Oil on canvas
Dimensions	154 cm × 222 cm (61 in × 87 in)
Location	Destroyed - formerly Gemäldegalerie Berlin

Christ on the Mount of Olives (1604-1606) was a painting by Michelangelo Merisi da Caravaggio (Italian, 1571-1610), formerly in the Kaiser Friedrich Museum painting gallery, Berlin, but destroyed in 1945.

The painting's authenticity has been disputed, but it is well attested in the collection of Marchese Vincenzo Giustiniani and his brother Cardinal Benedetto Giustiniani, its dimensions being virtually identical with those of a Caravaggio of the same subject listed in the Giustiniani inventory.^[1] In addition the model for Saint Peter (the reclining figure) appears identical with the two St Jeromes from Caravaggio's Roman period, Saint Jerome in Meditation and Saint Jerome, both around 1605-1606.

The subject is the episode related in the Gospel of Matthew (Matthew 26), when Jesus and his disciples went up to the Mount of Olives outside Jerusalem on the night when Christ was arrested; Jesus goes apart to pray, and returns to find the disciples sleeping. He awakens Peter with the rebuke, "What, would none of you stay awake with me one hour? Stay awake, and pray that you may be spared the test, for the spirit is willing, but the flesh is weak." Judas then arrives with the Roman soldiers, and Christ's pointing finger seems to indicate their approach. The other two figures are Saint John (centre) and Saint James.

Christ on the Mount of Olives forms part of a group of works on orthodox Christian subjects painted for Cardinal Benedetto, and including The Crowning with Thorns (Vienna), The Incredulity of Saint Thomas, and paintings of Saint Jerome, St Augustine and Mary Magdalene, now lost. At the same time as these works were being produced, Caravaggio was busy with Amor Victorious for the Cardinal's brother, the banker Vincenzo.

References

^ Squarzina, Silvia Danesi (1997). "The Collections of Cardinal Benedetto Giustiniani. Part I". The Burlington Magazine. 139 (1136): 766–791. JSTOR 887781.

External links

Media related to Christ on the Mount of Olives by Michelangelo Merisi da Caravaggio (destroyed) at Wikimedia Commons

[Squarzina-1] Squarzina, Silvia Danesi (1997). "The Collections of Cardinal Benedetto Giustiniani. Part I". The Burlington Magazine. 139 (1136): 766–791. JSTOR 887781.

[1]

v t e Caravaggio
List of paintings
1593–1594	Boy Peeling Fruit (c. 1592) Young Sick Bacchus (c. 1593) Boy with a Basket of Fruit (c. 1593) Boy Bitten by a Crayfish (c. 1593; lost) The Fortune Teller (c. 1594) The Cardsharps (c. 1594)
1595–1599 Del Monte paintings	The Musicians (c. 1595) Saint Francis of Assisi in Ecstasy (c. 1595) Boy Bitten by a Lizard (c. 1596) The Lute Player (c. 1596) Bacchus (c. 1596) Penitent Magdalene (c. 1597) Rest on the Flight into Egypt (c. 1597) Medusa (c. 1597) Portrait of a Courtesan (Fillide Melandroni) (c. 1597) Jupiter, Neptune and Pluto (c. 1597) Saint Catherine of Alexandria (c. 1598) The Sacrifice of Isaac (Princeton; c. 1598) John the Baptist (c. 1598) Martha and Mary Magdalene (c. 1598) Portrait of Maffeo Barberini (1598) Basket of Fruit (c. 1599) Judith Beheading Holofernes (c. 1599) David and Goliath (c. 1599) Narcissus (c. 1599)
1600–1606 Most famous painter in Rome	The Calling of Saint Matthew (1599–1600) The Martyrdom of Saint Matthew (1599–1600) The Conversion of Saint Paul (1600) The Crucifixion of Saint Peter (1601) The Conversion of Saint Paul on the Road to Damascus (1601) Supper at Emmaus (London; 1601) Amor Victorious (1602) Saint Matthew and the Angel (1602; destroyed) The Inspiration of Saint Matthew (1602) The Incredulity of Saint Thomas (c. 1602) The Taking of Christ (1602) The Entombment of Christ (c. 1603) Saint Francis in Prayer (c. 1603) The Calling of Saints Peter and Andrew (c. 1603–1606) Madonna of Loreto (Madonna dei Pellegrini, Pilgrims' Madonna) (c. 1604) The Crowning with Thorns (Prato; 1604) The Death of the Virgin (1604) Christ on the Mount of Olives (1605) Ecce Homo (Genoa; c. 1605) Saint Jerome in Meditation (c. 1605) Saint Jerome Writing (Rome; c. 1605) Portrait of Pope Paul V (1605) Still Life with Fruit (1605) Madonna and Child with Saint Anne (Dei Palafrenieri) (1606)
1606–1608 Naples and Malta	Ecce Homo (Madrid; c. 1605–1609) Mary Magdalen in Ecstasy (1606) Saint Francis in Meditation (1606) Supper at Emmaus (Milan; 1606) The Seven Works of Mercy (1606) The Crucifixion of Saint Andrew (1607) David with the Head of Goliath (Vienna; 1607) Madonna of the Rosary (1607) The Crowning with Thorns (Vienna; 1607) The Flagellation of Christ (c. 1607) Christ at the Column (c. 1607) Salome with the Head of John the Baptist (London; c. 1607) Saint Jerome Writing (Valletta; 1607) Portrait of Alof de Wignacourt and his Page (1607–1608) Portrait of Fra Antonio Martelli (1608) The Beheading of Saint John the Baptist (1608) Sleeping Cupid (1608)
1608–1610 Sicily and Naples	The Annunciation (1608) The Burial of Saint Lucy (1608) The Raising of Lazarus (1609) Adoration of the Shepherds (1609) Nativity with Saint Francis and Saint Lawrence (1609; lost) Salome with the Head of John the Baptist (Madrid; 1609) Denial of Saint Peter (1610) The Martyrdom of Saint Ursula (1610) David with the Head of Goliath (Rome; 1610)
Related	Paintings attributed to Caravaggio Utrecht Caravaggism Caravaggisti Caravaggio, il pittore maledetto Caravaggio (1986 film) Caravaggio (2007 film) Caravaggio's Shadow

See also

References

External links