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The Arrest of Christ

ca. 1545–46
Not on view
Niccolò Giolfino, a leading artist in the north Italian city of Verona in the 1540s, drew this scene in preparation for his oil painting "The Arrest of Christ" completed in 1546 for the Avanzi Chapel in the church of San Bernardino, Verona. The tumultuous scene depicts the moment following Judas's betrayal with a kiss that identified Christ to the Roman soldiers. Now, barely able to reach his forehead, the bearded Judas is pushed aside by the helmeted soldier who moves Christ toward the waiting rope. As if oblivious to his own capture, Christ turns his attention to Saint Peter, who has struck off the ear of the high priest's slave Malchus. Succinct strokes of white gouache forming Christ's downturned mouth convey his disappointment at Peter's anger. Here and in the other foreground figures, fine lines made with the point of the brush clearly and carefully describe the forms; in the background, by contrast, the landscape is more loosely defined in broad, rapid strokes.

Artwork Details

Object Information
  • Title: The Arrest of Christ
  • Artist: Niccolò Giolfino (Italian, Verona 1476–1555 Verona)
  • Date: ca. 1545–46
  • Medium: Brush and brown wash, highlighted with white gouache, over traces of black chalk, on greenish paper
  • Dimensions: 9-1/8 x 10-1/2 in. (23.1 x 26.7 cm)
  • Classification: Drawings
  • Credit Line: Frederick C. Hewitt Fund, 1917
  • Object Number: 19.76.17
  • Curatorial Department: Drawings and Prints

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Lucretia, Raphael (Raffaello Sanzio or Santi) Italian, Pen and brown ink over black chalk, partially incised with a stylus (recto); rubbed with black chalk for transfer (verso)
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Three Standing Figures (recto); Seated Woman and a Male Hermit in Half-length (verso), Stefano da Verona (Stefano di Giovanni d'Arbosio di Francia) Italian, Pen and brown ink, over traces of charcoal or black chalk (recto); pen and brown ink, brush with touches of brown wash, over traces of charcoal or black chalk (verso)
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The Head of the Virgin in Three-Quarter View Facing Right, Leonardo da Vinci Italian, Black chalk, charcoal, and red chalk, with some traces of white chalk (?); some remains of framing lines in pen and brown ink at upper right (not by Leonardo)
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Amya Petitioning Faustus for the Custody of Saint Mamas, Jean Cousin the Elder French, Pen and brown ink, brush and gray wash, with white gouache, over black chalk
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