Christ on the Mount of Olives, from "The Small Passion"
ca. 1510
Medium
Woodcut
Dimensions
sheet: 4 15/16 x 3 7/8 in. (12.5 x 9.8 cm)
Classification
Prints
Department
Drawings and Prints
Museum
Metropolitan Museum of Art, New York, NY
Credit
Gift of Junius Spencer Morgan, 1919
Accession Number
19.73.180
Tags
Art Historical Context
Albrecht Dürer, masterful German artist of the Northern Renaissance, created *Christ on the Mount ofives* around 1510 as part of his *Small Passion* series—a set of 37 intimate woodcuts retelling the Life of Christ. This poignant scene captures Jesus in the Garden of Gethsemane, sweating blood in agony while his disciples sleep and an angel offers comfort from above. Dürer's precise composition draws viewers into the emotional intensity of the moment, blending spiritual with human vulnerability. Printed on a modest sheet just under 5 by 4 inches, this woodcut exemplifies Dürer's revolutionary...
About the Artist
Albrecht Dürer · 1471–1528
Albrecht Dürer (1471–1528) stands as the preeminent figure of the Northern Renaissance and arguably the most influential artist in the history of printmaking. Born in Nuremberg on May 21, 1471, and dying in the same city on April 6, 1528, Dürer revolutionized the status of the artist in Northern Europe, transforming printmaking from a commercial craft into an independent fine art and establishing ...