Titian (Tiziano Vecellio) (Italian, Pieve di Cadore ca. 1485/90?–1576 Venice), The Agony in the Garden, 1558–1562. Oil on canvas, 69 5/16 × 53 9/16 in. (176 × 136 cm) Framed: 74 7/8 in. × 59 1/16 in. × 2 9/16 in. (190.2 × 150 × 6.5 cm). Museo Nacional del Prado. Madrid © Museo Nacional del Prado, Madrid

Titian painted two compositions of the Agony in the Garden for Philip II of Spain, of which this is the first. Christ is shown praying in the background, while the foreground is dominated by a massive soldier carrying a lantern (as described in John 18:3), heralding Christ’s capture—a brilliant use of scale in the service of drama. There are two sources of illumination in this nocturnal scene: the heavenly and the light from the lantern, glancing off the armor and the shield. The artist used light to focus our gaze on the features that, to him, bear the crux of the narrative, and where light does not fall he painted in a highly abbreviated manner. The technique was virtuoso and yet avoided traditional notions of high finish. These aspects of Titian’s nocturnes seem to have been of particular interest to his contemporary Jacopo Bassano, whose Baptism scene hangs nearby. 

This work is exhibited in the “Unfinished: Thoughts Left Invisible” exhibition, on view through September 4th, 2016. #MetBreuer