The Arrest of Christ
Jacopo Bassano (Bassano c.1510 – Venice 1592)
Category
Art / Oil paintings
Date
circa 1583 - 1592
Materials
Oil on canvas
Measurements
1143 x 940 mm (45 x 37 in)
Place of origin
Veneto
Order this imageCollection
Stourhead, Wiltshire
NT 732141
Caption
This is a night scene lit by the soldiers' braziers. The light falls upon Christ who stands at the right, surrounded by soldiers who have converged on him in the Garden of Gethsemane. He is gesturing to St Peter who has drawn his dagger against a prostrate figure, the High Priest's servant, Malchus, in the foreground, about to cut off his ear. A similar painting at Cremona formed part of a series of nine episodes of scenes from the Passion for Sant'Antonio Abbate, in Brescia, in 1583, by the artist’s son Francesco who may possibly have had a hand in this painting.
Summary
Oil painting on canvas, The Arrest of Christ by Jacopo Bassano the elder (Bassano 1510 - Venice 1592), circa 1583-92. A night scene, lit from the left by soldiers' braziers. The light falls upon Christ who stands at the right, surrounded by soldiers who have converged on him in the Garden of Gethsemane. He is gesturing to Saint Peter who has drawn his dagger against a prostrate figure, the High Priest's servant, Malchus, in the foreground and whose ear he is about to cut off.
Provenance
Possibly in France when it was engraved; probably acquired by by Richard Colt Hoare 2nd Bt (1758 – 1838) and thence by descent.Given to the National Trust along with the house, its grounds, and the rest of contents by Sir Henry Hugh Arthur Hoare, 6th Bt (1865 – 1947) in 1946.
Credit line
Stourhead, The Hoare Collection (National Trust)
Marks and inscriptions
Verso: Inscribed on the frame in black paint: 66 and with a Wiggins label indicating that it is from Stourhead and the National Trust Verso: Stretcher: with Freeman label
Makers and roles
Jacopo Bassano (Bassano c.1510 – Venice 1592), artist previously catalogued as attributed to Francesco Bassano the Younger (Bassano del Grappa 1549 – Venice 1592), artist attributed to Leandro Bassano (Bassano del Grappa 1557 – Venice 1622), artist
References
B. Berenson, Venetian Pictures, 1957, Vol. I, p.24 E. Arslan, I Bassani, 1958, Vol. I, p.223