The Taking of Christ
1602 · Oil on canvas · National Gallery of Ireland, Dublin
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About this work
- Artist
- Caravaggio (1571–1610)
- Year
- 1602
- Medium
- Oil on canvas
- Original size
- 133.5 × 169.5 cm
- Collection
- National Gallery of Ireland, Dublin (on loan from the Jesuit Community, Leeson Street)
- Movement
- Baroque
Judas has just kissed Christ, who closes his eyes and lets his hands fall, while an armoured soldier seizes him and Saint John flees at the left with his mouth open and his cloak snatched; at the right a man holding up a lantern, Caravaggio's own face, peers over the crowd. The arrest in the garden is compressed into a single band of figures against the night, with the black steel of the soldier's arm across the centre. Caravaggio painted it in Rome in 1602 for Ciriaco Mattei. The picture was lost for two centuries, catalogued as a Honthorst and hanging in the dining room of the Jesuit house in Leeson Street, Dublin, until it was recognised in 1990 and cleaned in the National Gallery of Ireland, where it hangs on indefinite loan from the Jesuits.
This print reproduces the whole work, uncropped, from a high-resolution scan of the original. The original is in the public domain.
Where it works
A night arrest in black armour, red cloak and lantern light, a tight band of faces for a study, library or hallway at 32×24 in black. Charcoal, deep red or olive walls suit the darkness; pair it with The Incredulity of Saint Thomas.
Style, size & framing detail
- Style
- Baroque painting
- Era
- 17th century (1602)
- Orientation
- Landscape
- Mood
- grand
- Rooms
- hallway or entryway, study or library, living room, dining room
- Good gift for
- housewarming, art lovers
Size. We'd hang this one at 32×24. Prints at 16×12, 24×18, 32×24 in — 16×12 for a shelf, desk or a gallery-wall grid; 24×18 above a console or sideboard; 32×24 as the statement piece above a sofa or headboard.
Framing. The gallery ground is part of the print, so frame it without a mat — black suits the deep tones of this period; natural wood lightens it.
Pairing. Pairs as a set of three with other famous painting prints (10% off three or more).
Details & materials
Shipping & returns
Is this the whole painting, or a crop?
Is The Taking of Christ in the public domain?
What is it printed on?
When was The Taking of Christ painted, and in what medium?
What size works above a sofa or bed?
About this design
The Madten promise
An exhibition poster
The same artwork as a gallery exhibition poster — title, artist & date typeset beneath the image on a soft ground.
