◧ Artist: Michelangelo Merisi da Caravaggio (1571 - 1610)
◧ Country: Italy
◧ Title: [The Taking of Christ]
◧ Medium: Oil painting on canvas
◧ Painting Size: 133.5 x 169.5 cm
◧ Title: [The Taking of Christ]
◧ Medium: Oil painting on canvas
◧ Painting Size: 133.5 x 169.5 cm
◧ Museum: National Gallery of Ireland, Dublin
◧ Country of Stamp Issue: Ireland◧ Date of Issue: March 2, 1994
◧ Face Value: 32 Irish Penny
◧ Issued as a part of Masterpieces from the National Gallery of Ireland series.
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Caravaggio painted this extraordinary work for the Roman Marquis Ciriaco Mattei in 1602. Offering a new visual approach to the biblical story, Caravaggio placed the figures close to the picture plane and used a strong light-and-dark contrast, giving the scene an extraordinary sense of drama.
Judas has identified Christ with a kiss, as the temple guards move in to seize Him. The fleeing disciple in disarray on the left is St John the Evangelist. Only the moon lights the scene. Although the man at the far right is holding a lantern, it is, in reality, an ineffective source of illumination. In that man’s features Caravaggio portrayed himself, aged 31, as an observer of events, a device he frequently used in his paintings.(excerpt from the painting description at National Gallery of Ireland)
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