Christ in the Garden of Gethsemane
Artist/Maker
Material / Technique
Dimensionsh x w: Mått 80 x 47 cm
Inventory numberNMDrh 288
AcqusitionTransferred 1866 from Kongl. Museum (Martelli 1804)
Other titlesTitle (sv): Kristus i örtagården Title (en): Christ in the Garden of Gethsemane
DescriptionCatalogue raisonné: Description in Italian Paintings: Three Centuries of Collecting, Nationalmuseum, Stockholm, 2015, cat.no. 98: FORMER INV. NOS.: 252 (M. 1796–97); 18 (F. 1798); 442 (M. 1804); KM 83. TECHNICAL NOTES: Labelled on verso: “Luti. Cristo nell’Orte. Mart. 442”. The original support consists of a single piece of sparsely woven, plain-weave linen fabric. It has been glued onto hardboard (marouflage), probably in Stockholm at the Nationalmuseum. The original strainer has been glued back onto the verso of the hardboard, although it no longer has any real function. The ground is red and covers the whole surface. The paint layer has been flattened due to the marouflage, but apart from that the painting is in fairly good condition. There are some small retouches and the varnish is yellowed. IR reflectography reveals some changes in the drapery covering the right foot of Christ. PROVENANCE: Martelli 1804. BIBLIOGRAPHY: Sander 1872–76, III, p. 135, no. 442. Nicola Martelli and his appraisers attributed the present painting to the Florentine artist Benedetto Luti. The subject matter was indeed part of Luti’s oeuvre.¹ Nevertheless, the stylistic level of the present painting and its compositional inconsistencies make it difficult to sustain the 18th-century attribution. The strongest figure is undoubtedly the angel, who has many features in common with those in Luti’s 1710 version of the motif. The Christ figure, not without merit, is painted with less anatomical skill. Since the present painting is not a direct copy of Luti’s work, it is not possible to suggest a link between them. It is likely that its author moved in the artistic circles in Rome where Luti’s idiom was known and praised. The quality is too vague, however, to allow the work to be assigned to a direct pupil of Luti’s. sne 1 Maffeis 2012, pp. 234–235. [End]
Collection
Object category