Agony in the Garden, The

Painting

-

Purdue University Galleries

Name/Title

Agony in the Garden, The

Entry/Object ID

2005.02.062

Description

Mixed oil and tempera on onion dome shaped wooden panel bordered in red, olive, and gold leaf with floral designs in red, green, and blue. The central image shows a darkened garden with Christ kneeling and his hands upon a rock. He is clothed in a pink tunic and blue-green cloak. A gold halo with his Greek symbols sits behind his head.

Type of Painting

Panel

Artwork Details

Medium

Tempera, Oil

Collection

Betsy Scheuring Icon Collection

Acquisition

Accession

2005.02

Source or Donor

Betsy Scheuring

Acquisition Method

Gift

Credit Line

Gift of Betsy Scheuring

Made/Created

Date made

1850 - 1900

Place

* Untyped Place

St. Petersburg, Russia

Inscription/Signature/Marks

Type

Inscription

Location

Back of icon

Transcription

N Г 225 N, several stickers

Lexicon

Nomenclature 4.0

Nomenclature Secondary Object Term

Icon

Nomenclature Primary Object Term

Symbol, Religious

Nomenclature Sub-Class

Religious Objects

Nomenclature Class

Ceremonial Objects

Nomenclature Category

Category 08: Communication Objects

Dimensions

Height

11 in

Width

22-1/2 in

Exhibitions

Spirit Made Tangible: The Scheuring Icon Collection (2006)
Surveying the Sacred: Analysis of the Scheuring Collection of Eastern Orthodox Icons (2025)

Interpretative Labels

Label Type

Cultural/Historical Context

Label

The shape of this icon suggests that it may have been placed above the doors of an iconostasis. The subject is the Agony in the Garden, in which Jesus retreats to a grove of olive trees called Gethsemane, taking with him Peter, James, and John, who appear in the shadows of the icon to the right of Jesus. Jesus has fallen to the ground in prayer beside a rock, where according to Luke’s account an angel comes to strengthen him. The icon was executed in a western artistic style, visible in the softly modeled figure of Christ, the looseness of the artist’s brushstrokes, and the romanticized atmosphere of the work. Framing the icon is intricately interlaced scrollwork of blue, red, white, and green.