Christ Taken, from The Passion
c. 1635
Medium
Etching on ivory laid paper
Dimensions
Image/plate: 21.7 × 16.8 cm (8 9/16 × 6 5/8 in.); Sheet: 22 × 18 cm (8 11/16 × 7 1/8 in.)
Classification
etching
Department
Prints and Drawings
Museum
Art Institute of Chicago
Accession Number
27917
Rights
Public Domain
About this artwork
Jan van Vliet utilized the dramatic interplay between highlights and shadows to show the heightened moment of Judas’s treacherous kiss. The countless Roman soldiers that recede into the darkness, only betrayed by their pikes and spears, as well as the silhouetted figure who stands between the light and the viewer further dramatize the moment. Van Vliet was also the etcher for several prints designed by Rembrandt, including the Descent From the Cross. The extent to which van Vliet had a hand in t...