Christ on the Mount of Olives 1 (1455) Andrea Mantegna (1431-1506)

Description of Andrea Mantegna’s painting The Prayer of the Cup

This painting depicts one of the most dramatic and most famous scenes from the Gospels. We see the moment when Jesus has just withdrawn to pray with his disciples. He is calm and totally unaware of what is about to happen in just a few moments. The disciples suspect nothing and are asleep. They do not know that one of them had turned out to be a traitor; here he is leading the guards to take away their Savior. The guards’ robes and Judas himself can already be seen on the horizon. The guards will inevitably catch up with Jesus, but what. The miracle doesn’t happen. In fear and confusion, the Savior turns his prayer to God. He does not understand why they want to punish him, since he had never done anything wrong to anyone during his stay in the city.

And then there is a sign from Heaven from the Most High Father. What does he want to tell his son? Will he save him? It is not yet time: only the angels are holding out the cross to Jesus. This means that he cannot escape severe suffering on earth.

Why do the disciples of the Savior sleep... This is a rather symbolic image: sleep has long been understood by scholars as a kind of spiritual death, for at that moment the soul leaves the body. It wanders. The picture is replete with other images - rabbits. They embody a certain timidity, fear and carnal pleasures. Thus, the disciples left their Master, renounced him. It is important to note that while there are many rabbits near the feet of the apostles themselves, they flee from Jesus. This is explained by the fact that Jesus has a divine origin. He is devoid of carnal pleasures, his soul and thoughts are pure. He is steadfast, but the apostles succumbed to fleeting weaknesses.

The painting contains quite bright and bold strokes. The artist has approached the work with confidence. This gives the canvas extra energy: quite powerful and inexplicable, and such a large number of symbols and allegories impose an inexplicable sense of unease on the viewer.