Bellini’s Agony in the Garden is a poignant and moving depiction of a pivotal moment in Christian history. The painting captures the anguish of Jesus as he prays on the night he will be arrested.
Who is Bellini?
Giovanni Bellini was born into a prominent Venetian family of artists in 1430. Giovanni would come to be known as the Father of the Venetian Renaissance, revolutionizing the use of color and light and cementing Venice’s role as a leader in High Renaissance art. In fact, both Titian and Giorgione, giants of the High Renaissance were trained by Bellini.
While Giovanni is the most famous of the Bellini family, his father, Jacopo, and his brother, Gentile, were also extremely skilled and popular painters. The two generations of Bellini’s had one of the busiest workshops in Venice.
Giovanni Bellini had a career that spanned 65 years. During that time, he remained open to learning new techniques and expanding his knowledge, even learning from his students. So, his work from different time periods have their own unique features.
Bellini was Influenced by the Northern Renaissance
A few years after creating this painting, Bellini would be introduced to oil paints. His subsequent mastery of this new medium, combined with the influence of Northern Renaissance aesthetics, would revolutionize Venetian art and propel Venice to the forefront of the Italian High Renaissance.
One of the aspects of Northern Renaissance painting that resonated with Bellini is their use of symbolism. In the North, flowers, towels, candles and more, were imbued with meaning. Albrecht Durer, the Da Vinci of the Northern Renaissance, once commented of Bellini that “he was the best painter of all.”
Many of Bellini’s works were commissioned by discerning patrons who sought out his intricate symbolic compositions for their meditative qualities. Notably, Bellini transcended the traditional role of landscapes as mere backdrops. He meticulously included details and symbols within his landscapes, enriching the narrative and offering additional layers of meaning to the central story.
The Influence of Andrea Mantegna
In addition, the Paduan artist, Andrea Mantegna, referred to as the first great painter of Northern Italy, married Giovanni’s sister. Jacopo (the patriarch of the family) likely arranged the marriage recognizing the power of Mantegna’s art. However, shortly after the marriage Mantegna received an offer he could not pass up and became the court painter for the Duke of Mantua. Mantegna’s own painting of The Agony in the Garden is the inspiration behind the work we will be examining today.
While those are the elements that Giovanni is remembered for, today we are going to be looking at a painting from his very early period, possibly while he was still an apprentice. It is obvious that the work is a study of a painting that his brother-in-law Mantegna had painted about 5 years earlier. Surprisingly, these two works hang side by side in the National Gallery in London.
The similarities between the paintings are clear, in fact Bellini’s painting was believed to be a Mantegna for years. Bellini was heavily influenced by his brother-in-law and felt that his own work was of a lesser quality. Some speculate that Mantegna assigned this painting to Giovanni as an exercise during his apprenticeship. Artist frequently used the works of others as studies, to improve specific skills, and to begin to make changes to find their own style.
While there are striking similarities between Mantegna work, and Bellini’s, we can see some important stylistic differences. Bellini’s painting is more open and hopeful. Most notably, Bellini will become known for the beautiful way he paints light. In this work, the morning light is just breaking, casting a pink glow over the painting. While Bellini was influenced by his brother-in-law, he did not merely imitate but used him as a springboard to develop his own unique vision.
We know that the first commission Bellini received was in 1470, and that this work was completed sometime between 1456 and 1465. From that information we can surmise that Giovanni had not become a master painter yet.
While in later years Bellini will be known for his adept use of oil paints, however, this work was painted with tempera (an egg-based paint) on a wooden panel. The strong lines, and contours have a crispness to them that is distinctive.
Reading Bellini’s Agony in the Garden
In these early works, Bellini paints with deep religious feeling, and a sympathy for the human condition There is an intensity to his devotion that will mellow a bit with time. His paintings will continue to contain religious devotion, but with more serenity and harmony, taking the edge off of the intensity of his earlier works.
The painting, on one level, is a straightforward presentation of the Biblical story of Christ praying in the Garden of Gethsemane on the night he is betrayed by Judas. Christ has left the Last Supper and sought out a place of quiet solitude to pray. Jesus has asked his three closest companions, Peter, James and John, to join him and keep watch while he prays.
The Disciples
The disciples cannot stay awake. As we look at the three disciples, we note that, in fact, they do make a good study for an artist working to perfect his use of foreshortening. Foreshortening and the fine points of using perspective were still relatively new and artist had to spend time and effort mastering the new techniques.
As we examine the disciples, we notice that each of them is in a different position but they each give the impression of deep sleep. In particular, when we look at the figure in pink his mouth is open, and you can almost hear him snoring. The disciples are not keeping watch, as Christ requested, but instead have left him completely alone during this time of struggle.
The disciples’ robes and the colors that Bellini has used are some of the most beautiful in the painting. Venice was the hub of the pigment trade in Italy and so Bellini had access to the best pigments available. During this period, artists couldn’t purchase pre-mixed paints. They had to become skilled at grinding pigments and mixing their own colors. This was especially challenging when working on a painting over multiple days, as they needed to precisely match the colors they had used previously. This was especially true for this painting, which was being painted in tempera, a fast-drying paint. In the next decade Bellini would be using oil paints. Oils slower drying time altered the way that artist worked.
Jesus
The figure of Christ is kneeling in prayer as He asks God to take this cup, his suffering, from him. In the Biblical narrative found in Luke that Bellini would be working from we know that Jesus’ prayers during this night were so intense that he sweated blood.
As we follow Christ’s gaze, we see that he is looking at a small angel, the Angel of Comfort, who has come to him holding a cup and paten. The paten is the plate that the bread of Communion rests on. Sometimes the chalice used in communion is called the Cup of Suffering because in the Catholic tradition in order for Christ to redeem the sins of mankind he had to drink all of the suffering that was in the cup.
As we examine the figure of Christ, one of the most notable features is the outcropping of rock that he is kneeling on. Creating a desk for Christ’s prayers out of a natural rock formation is a signature Bellini move, using the landscape to further his story.
Generally, Renaissance painters painted landscapes merely to fill in the background space. However, as I noted earlier, Bellini had been heavily influenced by the Northern Renaissance whose landscapes often had symbolic meanings. Bellini began to infuse the landscapes of his paintings with layers of meaning which appealed to those who wished to purchase the paintings to use for contemplative purposes.
The Gate and the Wilderness
One example of this is in the lower right corner of the painting. There is a twig fence encircling the garden, and the gate has been left open. Gardens have a long history of spiritual meaning in the Bible, and in Western Art. Gardens are often synonymous with The Temple. The Temple is the place where God meets man. Originally, this meeting place between God and humanity was in the Garden of Eden, but with the Fall, man was expelled from the garden and that place of communion was closed off.
God provided a new place for humanity to ‘meet’ with him when he gave the instructions to build The Temple. This idea continued in art with the practice of placing the Virgin Mary in a walled garden in Annunciation paintings. The idea of the hortus conclusus (Latin for enclosed garden) is a theme in Christian art and one that’s symbolic use by artists continued to expand during the Renaissance.
Up until Christ’s resurrection, the Temple and God were only accessible by certain people, under certain circumstances, at certain times of the year. With Christ’s death and resurrection, the problem of sin is dealt with and the need for a Temple ceased. Instead God’s people became his Temple, and access to God was no longer impeded. We see the foreshadowing of this in the open gate leading into the garden. As Christ is getting ready to head to his death, the gate to God has been opened.
Walking through this gate into the garden is interesting in that there is nothing about the area that looks garden like. In fact, the’ area is quite barren, resembling a wilderness more than a garden. In art placing figures in a wilderness denoted a time of testing and struggle. That certainly fits with theme in this account.
The Dead Tree
Continuing on to the left we come to a dead tree. The iconography of trees in Christian art is thought-provoking. Trees are symbol of a life lived according to God’s plan. Trees go through a cycle. There is the season of growth, then the winter comes when the tree is barren, which symbolizes death and then in the spring we have the picture of resurrection. In this painting we have a dead tree representing death.
Generally, a lone tree in a landscape represents the Tree of Life, as opposed to the tree of knowledge, which is the one that Adam and Eve ate from in the garden. The belief in this time period was that the wood of the cross that Jesus would die on was wood from the tree of knowledge. However, in a twist, the cross that Christ would be crucified on was believed to be the source of the believer’s life, and so the cross becomes the Tree of Life. I know that feels like a convoluted circle, but that lone tree could have served in Bellini’s day to tell the viewer that we’ve come full circle. That the problems of the Garden of Eden are about to be resolved, and this tree that is dead will soon burst forth with new growth.
The Kidron Brook
Continuing on from the tree we find a bridge going over a small brook. This is the Kidron brook. When there is rain in Israel the brook flows through the Kidron Valley. The Kidron brook is mentioned multiple times in the Old Testament. It is the Brook Kidron that David crosses when fleeing from Absalom, and Jesus crosses the Kidron to enter the Garden of Gethsemane. But what the brook is primarily known for is its connection to idolatry.
The sin of idolatry is one that plagued the people of Israel throughout their history. When God cleansed the people of idolatry they were told to grind the idols and pour their ashes into the Kidron Brook. (You can read more about that here) So it is significant that Bellini includes this element in the landscape, noting that Christ’s Passion begins with crossing the Brook Kidron, the spot where God has repeatedly dealt with Israel’s sin.
Venetian Countryside
As we continue to look at the background of the painting we see a landscape similar to the countryside surrounding Venice. The hills with their towns, the church steeple rising up, would have appeared familiar to the original viewers of this painting. Venetians viewing this work would have recognized their own country and landscape. Just as Tintoretto placed Christ washing the disciples feet in a Renaissance palace, in the same way Bellini has placed this story in the Venetian Countryside. The reason for this is to make the story universal and timeless, to connect the story more immediately with those who would be viewing the painting transporting the Biblical narrative into the present.
On the Road
On the road next to the Brook Kidron we see the Roman soldiers, led by Judas, walking up to the Garden to arrest Christ. This group isn’t seen by the disciples who are still sound asleep or by Christ who is consumed by his prayers, but we, the viewer, see them and understand what they mean. The events of the passion are truly underway.
The Morning Sky
In most artistic works the agony in the garden is set in the middle of the night. Nighttime is a fitting setting for the story, first, because we know that Christ prayed all night, but also because at this moment in Christ’s life, darkness feels very appropriate. However, Bellini makes a different choice.
We come to my favorite part of the painting, the morning sky. As Christ is finishing his prayers, and the soldiers are rounding the turn in the road, to start up the hill, light is breaking. A warm pink light is cast over the scene. The beauty of the morning sky is stunning. Beyond that the sunrise feels hopeful. This is not a dark painting of Christ suffering. Instead his is a painting full of hope.
The sunrise is meant to remind the viewer that the resurrection is coming. There may be dark events still to come, but in the end there will be a bright new morning, a resurrection morning, when all of creation will celebrate.
Giovanni Bellini is believed to be the first Italian painter to paint a sunrise. His ability to paint light, to create atmosphere with light is considered one of his greatest gifts. This painting may have been done while he was still an apprentice, but when we look at the sunrise we know we are looking at the work of a master.
As the light from that sunrise spreads across the landscape I want to direct our attention back to the figure of Christ. The light is hitting his clothing, so that he gleams in the reflection. To magnify the effect of the light on Christ, Bellini was added flecks of gold onto his clothing. They subtly reflect the light and add to the scene.
In Conclusion
“Agony in the Garden” is a testament to Bellini’s skill as a painter. It’s a work that continues to resonate with viewers today, offering a powerful and moving portrayal of human suffering and spiritual struggle.
