Leandro Bassano Circle.

Circle of LEANDRO BASSANO (Bassano del Grappa, 1557-Venice, 1622).
"Prayer in the garden".
Oil on canvas glued to tablex.
Measurements: 72.5 x 97.5 cm; 84.5 x 106.5 cm (frame).
This devotional painting represents Jesus in the Garden of Olives at the moment when the angel comforts him, while his disciples Peter, John and James sleep beside him (Matthew: ch. 26 v. 37; Mark: ch. 14 v. 33). The Gospels narrate that, distressed by a strange sadness, Jesus went to pray on the Mount of Olives, where the apostles followed him. Once there, Jesus withdraws to one side to pray, the moment of the crucifixion becoming present to him. Thus, this episode begins the bloody Passion in the soul of Christ. The apostles fall into a deep sleep, and an angel appears to Jesus to comfort him. In fact, this episode alludes to the greatest temptation of Jesus' life, the last of all: knowing his destiny, he can either flee from his enemies or continue to fulfill his divine mission, risking his life.
Formally we can relate this work to the Bassano school, a key family saga for the development of the Venetian Mannerist school. Its founder was Jacopo Bassano (ca.1515 - 1592), although his father had already been a popular artist, from whom Jacopo learned the costumbrist tone with which he endowed most of his religious compositions. An artist of great success in his time, Jacopo Bassano worked in Venice and other Italian cities, and established a workshop in his native Bassano del Grappa, near Venice. It was there that his four sons, who continued his style, were trained and developed their careers: Francesco the Younger (1549-1592), Gerolamo (1566-1621), Giovanni Battista (1553-1613) and Leandro (1557-1622).