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Agony in the Garden, The

Painting
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.

2005.02.062

Panel

TemperaOil

Betsy Scheuring Icon Collection

2005.02

Betsy Scheuring

Gift

Gift of Betsy Scheuring

1850 - 1900

St. Petersburg, Russia

Inscription

Back of icon

N Г 225 N, several stickers

Icon

Symbol, Religious

Religious Objects

Ceremonial Objects

Category 08: Communication Objects

11 in

22-1/2 in

Spirit Made Tangible: The Scheuring Icon Collection (2006)

Surveying the Sacred: Analysis of the Scheuring Collection of Eastern Orthodox Icons (2025)

Cultural/Historical Context

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.

Agony in the Garden, The picture number 1