Christus op de Olijfberg Matheus 2637-45 Marcus 1433-40 Lucas 2239-45 Johannes 181-23. NL-HlmNHA 1477 53008470

Christ is shown kneeling on a high rocky ledge, looking up toward a heavenly light where an angel holds out a chalice. Below, the disciples Peter, James, and John are rendered with heavy, volumetric forms as they sleep through the night. The composition leads the eye from the sleeping figures in the foreground to the distant background where Judas and the temple guards enter the garden gate with torches.

This print belongs to Goltzius's celebrated 'Passion' series, created as a deliberate stylistic imitation (aemulatio) of Albrecht Dürer. As a leader of the Haarlem Mannerists, Goltzius used these works to explore the limits of the engraving medium and to engage with the intellectual tradition of artistic lineage and technical perfection.