REMBRANDT VAN RIJN (1606–1669) - SCHOOL

Oil on oak panel. This painting depicts the moment after the Last Supper when Christ goes to the Mount of Olives with his disciples Peter, James, and John to pray. Three times, Christ, full of anxiety and sadness, finds his disciples sleeping instead of praying. In the morning, a group of soldiers arrives with Judas, who symbolically betrays Christ with a kiss, indicating that it is he who is known as the Messiah. The scene takes place at night, the image is executed in dark tones, illuminated only by the guards’ torchlight, underscoring the importance of the moment. On the left, the Apostle Peter desperately tries to defend Christ and inadvertently cuts off one of the enemy’s ears during the scuffle.