The pride of The National Gallery in Dublin is no doubt the Taking of the Christ by Caravaggio. The painting itself is truly a masterpiece but fascinating is also the story behind the painting and its 400 year long journey from the workshop of Caravaggio in Rome to the wall in National Gallery in Dublin. Especially the last part is something out of an art historian dream. Long thought to be lost, it was discovered (very fittingly one might add) by a long-time admirer of Caravaggio, the Italian art historian Sergio Benedetti. Little did he know that only few yards from his workplace is the lost masterpiece the whole time, wrongly labelled “The Betrayal of Christ” by Gerard van Honthorst. The Jesuit order that had the painting in their possession for many years asked MrBenedetti to restore it, and Benedetti imeddiate suspicion lead to several tests and appraisals, until it was confirmed without a shadow of a doubt that it is the long lost masterpiece “The Taking of Christ” by Caravaggio But let us move to the actual painting and its place in the Baroque art movement.
The painting represents Jesus Christ being captured in the Garden of Gethsemane by soldiers who were led to him by one of his disciples, Judas Iscariot. Tempted by the promise of financial reward, Judas agreed to identify his master by kissing him: “The one I shall kiss is the man; seize him and lead him away safely” (Mark 14:44)[1] Caravaggio chooses the most dramatic moment of the story when Judas is delivering his kiss and everybody else is reacting.
There are seven figures depicting the moment that Jesus was betrayed by Judas and taken by the roman soldiers. The only solid figure is the Christ standing with his hands folded in a gesture of faith, his expression that of calm acceptance. He is aware of his fate and he accepts it with humility. The image would have encouraged viewers to follow Christ’s example, to place forgiveness before revenge, and to engage in spiritual rather than physical combat.[2] Caravaggio presents the scene as if it were a frozen moment, to which the over-crowded composition and violent gestures contribute dramatic impact.
Judas here is not the dignified apostle, he is portrayed as old wrinkled deeply troubled man, in his eyes a menacing expression almost madness. Caravaggio didn’t shy away from the ugliness in his characters; there was no idealized beauty but a raw naturalism. To this effect he often used lowly people as his models, people such as beggars, street urchins, prostitutes, for which he was a target of much controversy. And you can see the naturalism and the ugliness of his character in the face of Judas as he is delivering his kiss. Judas has a very ungrateful role in this biblical story. It was his faith to betray Jesus, so Jesus could be sacrificed for all our sins and then resurrected, without Judas there would be no Christianity, so one could say he was only a pawn in this God’s plan.
In contrast to the defenceless Christ is the soldier in the jet black armour, the light creating a sheen masterly done by the artist, grasping at Christ, his hand entering our space, which is another technique used in baroque painting to intensify the drama and include us in this nocturnal scene of panic and betrayal. This is one of the differences between baroque and renaissance, this sense of theatricality and drama, the scene seems to be coming out at us; as oppose the renaissance painting, which was trying to invite you in. This is one of the main characteristics of baroque art.
On the left of Christ is a man with outstretched hands fleeing the scene, his mouth gaping in horror. Many art historians argue that this is St. John but there is no evidence to support this, but it most probably is one of Christ disciples. A puzzling fact is that his head seem to merge together with the head of Christ, so maybe it isn’t a real person at all and in fact it is only the manifestation of the inner turmoil of Christ.
On the right behind the soldiers is a man holding a strange Chinese lantern, looking at the scene not in shock but with inquiring interest. This is almost certainly a self-portrait of Caravaggio, the artist including himself in the scene. This could symbolize the artists thought process; he is revealing for us the scene of Betrayal, bringing it to life. With the lantern he is illuminating the scene, showing us the biblical scene as it is, all the panic and naturalism, his interpretation of this particular passage from the bible.
The painting is typical of Caravaggio’s style; bright highlights, dark sharp shadows, and a black background. Like many of Caravaggio’s paintings, it shows his use of chiaroscuro, and taken to the extreme tenebrism, the sharp contrast between light and dark with little gradation.
[1]The New Testament in Four Versions: King James, Revised Standard, Phillips Modern English, New English Bible. Washington: Christianity Today, 1963. N. pag. Print.
[2] “NGA – Caravaggio’s The Taking of Christ.” NGA – Caravaggio’s The Taking of Christ. N.p., n.d. Web. 15 Apr. 2013.
Zemo's Art History 