In the Garden of Gethsemane

According to the biblical text, the Lord went with the apostles to the Mount of Olives after the Last Supper and entered the Garden of Gethsemane. He wanted to pray to his Heavenly Father. Jesus left the disciples at the entrance to the garden and took only three of them – Peter, James, and John – with him. When he departed, the Lord began to pray, saying, "Abba, Father, all things are possible to you; remove this cup from me. Yet not what I want, but what you want." (Mark 14:36). When the Lord got up from prayer, he returned to his three disciples, but they were asleep. Then Christ called them to prayer: "Keep watch and pray, so that you will not give in to temptation. For the spirit is willing, but the body is weak." (Mark 14:38). Twice more, the Lord went away from the disciples into the depths of the garden and repeated the same prayer. Christ's grief was so great and His prayer so intense that drops of bloody sweat fell from His face to the ground. In these difficult moments, as the Gospel tells us, "An angel from heaven appeared to him and strengthened him" (Luke 22:43). After finishing the prayer, the Saviour came to His disciples and found them sleeping again. "Are you still sleeping and resting? Enough! The hour has come. Look, the Son of Man is delivered into the hands of sinners. Rise! Let us go! Here comes my betrayer!" (Mark 14:41-42). At the same time, the lights of lanterns and torches began to be seen through the foliage of the trees. A crowd of men with swords and clubs appeared. The chief priests and scribes had sent them to seize Jesus. Judas walked in front of the armed men. The betrayer had arranged a signal with them: "The one I kiss is the man; arrest him and lead him away under guard." (Mark 14:44). Separating himself from the crowd, Judas approached Christ with the words: "Rejoice, Master," and kissed him. In response, he heard: "Judas, are you betraying the Son of Man with a kiss?" (Luke 22:48). The eighteenth-century sculptural composition depicts the scene of the Saviour's prayer. The peculiarity of the work is its descriptive nature and detailed reproduction of the clothes, movements, and faces. The expressiveness of the draperies of Christ's cloak indicates the influence of Baroque form-making

Borys Voznytskyi Lviv National Art Gallery