The Agony in the Garden

c. 1480

Martin Schongauer

Associated Names
Martin Schongauer

Artist, German, c. 1450 - 1491

The image depicts multiple figures with much of their bodies shown. In the foreground, one figure is kneeling in profile with hands clasped in prayer, facing left, with long hair and a beard, wearing a long robe. On the ground, three men are seated or reclining, all clothed in robes. Two of them are asleep, with their heads propped by hands or resting on shoulders, and one holds a sword. The third sitting figure is awake, holding a lantern and leaning against a large rock. In the background on a cliff, another figure with draped clothing is interacting with a winged being. In the right background, a group of armed soldiers approaches, wearing helmets and carrying spears. The scene is set in a rocky, mountainous terrain with some barren trees visible in the background.

Media Options

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Artwork overview

  • Medium

    engraving

  • Credit Line

    Gift of W.G. Russell Allen

  • Accession Number

    1941.1.43

  • Catalogue Raisonné

    Hollstein, no. 19, State only

Artwork history & notes

Provenance

W.G. Russell Allen [1882-1955], Boston; gift to the NGA, 1941.

Associated Names

Exhibition History

1964

  • Fifteenth- and Sixteenth-Century German Prints from the National Gallery of Art Collection, Washington, D.C., 1964-1965, no cat.

1966

  • Master Prints from the Collection of the National Gallery of Art, Washington, D.C., 1966-1967, no cat.

1967

  • Fifteenth Century Engravings of Northern Europe from the National Gallery of Art, Washington, D.C., NGA, 1967-1968, no. 51, repro.

Bibliography

1908

  • Lehrs, Max. Geschichte und kritischer Katalog des deutschen, niederlandischen und franzosischen Kupferstichs im XV. Jahrhundert. 9 vols. and 1 plate vol. Vienna: Gesellschaft fur vervielfaltigende Kunst, 1908-1934.

1949

  • Hollstein, F.W.H. et al. German engravings, etchings and woodcuts ca. 1400-1700. 8 vols. Amsterdam: Menno Hertzberger, 1954-1868. Dutch and Flemish etchings, engravings and woodcuts, ca. 1450-1700. Vols. I-XV, XVIII, XIX. Amsterdam: Menno Hertzberge

1967

  • Shestack, Alan. Fifteenth Century Engravings of Northern Europe from the National Gallery of Art, Washington, D.C.. Exh. cat. Washington: National Gallery of Art, 1967: no. 51.

Wikidata ID

Q64960156

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