Offered by Antichità di Alina
Christ in the Garden of Gethsemane
Francesco Bassano the Younger (Bassano del Grappa, 1549 – Venice, 1592) and workshop
Oil on original canvas, not relined
105 × 134 cm (with frame)
Gilded wooden frame, 18th century
This large-scale painting belongs to the Venetian production of Francesco Bassano the Younger, eldest son of Jacopo Bassano. He moved to Venice in 1578 to direct the family workshop in the city and contributed to the decoration of the Doge’s Palace with large historical compositions.
The subject of Christ’s Agony in the Garden was one of the most frequently repeated in the Bassano workshop, offering a rare opportunity in that period to experiment with nocturnal settings and dramatic lighting effects.
At the centre of the composition, Christ is shown kneeling in prayer, his face illuminated by a supernatural light emanating from the chalice held out by an angel. In the foreground, the three apostles—Peter, James and John—are asleep. In the distance, a group of soldiers led by Judas approaches with torches: the figures are painted with rapid, energetic brushstrokes of red and brown, creating a vivid and expressive rendering that feels strikingly modern, with a typically Venetian freedom of touch.
The canvas, coarse and heavy, is consistent with the Venetian taste of the 16th century, and its textured surface enhances the tactile presence of the painting. This version stands out for its higher quality compared to most known variants of the subject. On the reverse of the stretcher, there is an old pencil inscription bearing the name “Francesco Bassano”.
Other versions of the same composition are preserved at the Museum of Fine Arts in Moscow and the John and Mable Ringling Museum of Art in Sarasota, attesting to the enduring success of this iconography in the Bassano workshop.
