Agony in the Garden (Perugino)
Encyclopedia
Pietà is a painting by the Italian Renaissance artist Pietro Perugino
, executed around 1483-1493, and housed in the Uffizi Gallery, Florence
.
saw them in side altars of the church of San Giovanni Battista alla Calza, after the original location had been destroyed during the Siege of Florence
in 1529. It was moved to the Uffizi in the 20th century.
The dating of the work is disputed: it varies from 1482, the year of Perugino's return from Rome, to a slightly later period, although before the end of the century, when the artist started to use only line oil, which in these works is used only at an experimental level.
The painting was restored in 1998.
At the sides, two groups of soldiers, led by Judas Iscariot
, are closing to arrest Jesus.
Pietro Perugino
Pietro Perugino , born Pietro Vannucci, was an Italian Renaissance painter of the Umbrian school, who developed some of the qualities that found classic expression in the High Renaissance...
, executed around 1483-1493, and housed in the Uffizi Gallery, Florence
Florence
Florence is the capital city of the Italian region of Tuscany and of the province of Florence. It is the most populous city in Tuscany, with approximately 370,000 inhabitants, expanding to over 1.5 million in the metropolitan area....
.
History
The work was painted for the church of the convent of San Giusto alle mura together with the Pietà and a Crucifixion. Renaissance art biographer Giorgio VasariGiorgio Vasari
Giorgio Vasari was an Italian painter, writer, historian, and architect, who is famous today for his biographies of Italian artists, considered the ideological foundation of art-historical writing.-Biography:...
saw them in side altars of the church of San Giovanni Battista alla Calza, after the original location had been destroyed during the Siege of Florence
Siege of Florence
There have been a number of sieges of the city of Florence:* Siege of Florence , part of the Wars of the Guelphs and Ghibellines* Siege of Florence , part of the War of the League of Cognac...
in 1529. It was moved to the Uffizi in the 20th century.
The dating of the work is disputed: it varies from 1482, the year of Perugino's return from Rome, to a slightly later period, although before the end of the century, when the artist started to use only line oil, which in these works is used only at an experimental level.
The painting was restored in 1998.
Description
Christ is portrayed in center of the panel above a clear sky, kneeling in the Garden of Gethsemane and receiving by an angel a divine chalice. His figure forms a triangle with the three sleeping apostles at the bottom (from the left, John, Peter and James); the triangle is connected to the painting's sides by the symmetrical line of the hills. Behind Jesus is a lake landscape, a typical element of the Italian painting at the time, with a fortified city and an ancient bridge.At the sides, two groups of soldiers, led by Judas Iscariot
Judas Iscariot
Judas Iscariot was, according to the New Testament, one of the twelve disciples of Jesus. He is best known for his betrayal of Jesus to the hands of the chief priests for 30 pieces of silver.-Etymology:...
, are closing to arrest Jesus.