El Greco" Circle

Circle of "EL GRECO"; DOMÉNIKOS THEOTOKÓPOULOS (Candía, Greece, 1541 - Toledo, 1614). "Prayer in the Garden of Olives".
Oil on canvas.
Measurements: 40 x 31 cm; 66x 57 cm (frame).
This devotional painting represents Jesus in the Garden of Olives at the moment when the angel comforts him, while his disciples Peter, John and James sleep beside him (Matthew: ch. 26 v. 37; Mark: ch. 14 v. 33; Luke: ch. 22, 39- 46). 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. Jesus knelt down and prayed, saying: "Father, if you are willing, take this cup away from me; yet not my will, but yours be done. 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. And being in agony, he insisted more and more on 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." 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.
In a studied composition that seeks depth, we see the three holy apostles asleep, in different positions, configuring a line that goes to the bottom of the canvas. The work is based on a popular model of the same theme by the Bassano family.