Agony in the Garden
ca. 1500
Medium
Pen and brush and grayish black ink.
Dimensions
7 1/2 x 6 5/16 in. (19.1 x 16 cm)
Classification
Drawings
Culture
German, Franconia
Department
Robert Lehman Collection
Museum
Metropolitan Museum of Art, New York, NY
Credit
Robert Lehman Collection, 1975
Accession Number
1975.1.850
Tags
Art Historical Context
Nestled in the Robert Lehman Collection at The Metropolitan Museum of Art,Agony in the Garden is a poignant drawing from Franconia, Germany, circa 1500. This work captures the biblical moment when Christ prays in the Garden of Gethsem, sweating blood in anticipation of his crucifixion—a scene central to Christian devotion during the late Gothic period. Created by an anonymous German artist, it reflects the emotional intensity and spiritual focus of Northern European art at the cusp of the Renaissance, where religious subjects like the Passion of Christ inspired both public altarpieces and priv...
About the Artist
German
**German, Franconia (active ca. 1485–1500)** was an anonymous artist from the Franconian region of northern Bavaria, Germany, renowned for his contributions to late Gothic graphic arts. Little is known of his early life or training, as details about many anonymous masters from this era remain undocumented. Franconia, with its vibrant artistic centers like Nuremberg, fostered a rich tradition of re...