Past Exhibition

Caravaggio's The Taking of Christ

A group of four men with pale skin, shown from the waist up, almost fill this square painting. Light pours onto the scene from the upper left and falls across the upturned face of the bearded, bare-chested man, Saint Bartholomew, who is situated with his back facing us and his arms spread wide. In the top right corner, his right wrist is lashed to a pole that extends off the top edge of the painting. His other arm is bent at the elbow near the lower left corner, and he holds that hand palm up. His profile, facing our left, is bright against the shadowed background. His mouth is slightly agape, and his eyebrows are raised as he looks up toward the light that bathes his lithe, muscular body. His long beard is streaked with gray, and he has receding black hair. A second, broad-shouldered man, draped in a brown cloak, stands facing us behind and just to our left of Saint Bartholomew. The younger man holds a knife in one hand resting against a black, rod-like sharpener held in the other. He turns his head to gaze at Saint Bartholomew, his eyes deep in shadow. He also has a furrowed brow and a craggy, ruddy complexion. Two more men stand behind him, to our left, filling the left side of the painting. The man on the far left has smooth skin, a trimmed beard, and short brown hair. He stands in profile looking to our right and wears a cranberry-red cloak. Barely visible beyond him, to our right, is a man wearing a gray-green hood hiding half his face. His features are loosely painted and faint, but he also looks up, either toward the young man or the light from above. All four are surrounded by deep shadows against a brown background.
Jusepe de Ribera, The Martyrdom of Saint Bartholomew, 1634, oil on canvas, Gift of the 50th Anniversary Gift Committee, 1990.137.1

Details

  • Dates

    -

  • Locations

    West Building, Main Floor, Gallery 29
A group of four men with pale skin, shown from the waist up, almost fill this square painting. Light pours onto the scene from the upper left and falls across the upturned face of the bearded, bare-chested man, Saint Bartholomew, who is situated with his back facing us and his arms spread wide. In the top right corner, his right wrist is lashed to a pole that extends off the top edge of the painting. His other arm is bent at the elbow near the lower left corner, and he holds that hand palm up. His profile, facing our left, is bright against the shadowed background. His mouth is slightly agape, and his eyebrows are raised as he looks up toward the light that bathes his lithe, muscular body. His long beard is streaked with gray, and he has receding black hair. A second, broad-shouldered man, draped in a brown cloak, stands facing us behind and just to our left of Saint Bartholomew. The younger man holds a knife in one hand resting against a black, rod-like sharpener held in the other. He turns his head to gaze at Saint Bartholomew, his eyes deep in shadow. He also has a furrowed brow and a craggy, ruddy complexion. Two more men stand behind him, to our left, filling the left side of the painting. The man on the far left has smooth skin, a trimmed beard, and short brown hair. He stands in profile looking to our right and wears a cranberry-red cloak. Barely visible beyond him, to our right, is a man wearing a gray-green hood hiding half his face. His features are loosely painted and faint, but he also looks up, either toward the young man or the light from above. All four are surrounded by deep shadows against a brown background.
Jusepe de Ribera, The Martyrdom of Saint Bartholomew, 1634, oil on canvas, Gift of the 50th Anniversary Gift Committee, 1990.137.1

Overview: The Taking of Christ (1602), by Michelangelo da Merisi, known as Caravaggio, was the centerpiece of this exhibition, which also featured 9 related baroque paintings from the collection of the National Gallery of Art. The painting had traveled to the United States for the exhibition Saints and Sinners: Caravaggio and the Baroque Image at the McMullen Museum of Art, Boston College. It was shown in Washington by special arrangement before being returned to Ireland. The Taking of Christ was found in 1990 in the Dublin residence of the Society of Jesus (The Jesuits). After its discovery, the painting was placed on indefinite loan to the National Gallery of Ireland.

Organization: The coordinating curator for the exhibition in Washington was Philip Conisbee, senior curator of European paintings.

Sponsor: The exhibition was made possible by a grant from EduCap Inc.

Attendance: 80,361

Brochure: Caravaggio's The Taking of Christ: Saints and Sinners in Baroque Painting, by Mari Griffith. Washington, DC: National Gallery of Art, 1999.

You may also like

Two men on logs surrounded by the rapids of the Hudson River with green trees on both sides and a blue sky with white puffy clouds.

Exhibition:  American Landscapes in Watercolor from the Corcoran Collection

Kwame Brathwaite's photograph of a young woman, Untitled (Portrait, Reels as Necklace), c. 1972

Exhibition:  Photography and the Black Arts Movement, 1955–1985