Spanish school; 17th century.

Spanish school; XVII century.
"Prayer in the Garden".
Oil on canvas. Relined.
It presents Repainting and restorations on the pictorial surface.
It has a frame from the XVIII century.
Measurements: 160,5 x 118,5 cm; 185 x 143 cm (frame).
Oil on canvas in which a devotional theme is represented. It is about Jesus in the Garden of Olives at the moment in which the angel comforts him, while his disciples Peter, John and James sleep beside him (Matthew: ch. 26 v. 37; Mark: ch. 14 v. 33). The Gospels narrate that, distressed by a strange sadness, Jesus went to pray on the Mount of Olives, where the apostles followed him. Once there, Jesus withdraws to one side to pray, the moment of the crucifixion becoming present to him. Thus, this episode begins the bloody Passion in the soul of Christ. The apostles fall into a deep sleep, and an angel appears to Jesus to comfort him. In fact, this episode alludes to the greatest temptation of Jesus' life, the last of all: knowing his destiny, he can either flee from his enemies or continue to fulfill his divine mission, risking his life (Luke: 22, 39- 46 ). Which narrates how Jesus, on his knees, prayed, saying: "Father, if you are willing, take this cup away from me; but not my will, but yours be done". Then an angel from heaven appeared to him and comforted him. And in agony, he persisted in his prayer. His sweat became like thick drops of blood falling to the ground. And rising from prayer, he came to the disciples and found them asleep with sorrow; and he said to them, "How is it that you are asleep? Rise and pray that you may not fall into temptation."
The style of the work follows the precepts of the Spanish school. The figure of Jesus Christ stands out against a neutral and dark background, which enhances his monumental corporeality, his classical and sculptural anatomy. His proportions are not the stylized and almost deformed of the full Mannerism, but in his anatomical treatment a rigorous and precise drawing continues to predominate. In this case, the author dispenses with the apostles, who are usually represented as asleep. In such a way the artist only gives the protagonism to the figure of Christ and the angel, thus showing a transcendental moment of religion.