Arrest of Christ

In the center, Judas Iscariot leans forward to kiss Jesus, identifying him to the surrounding armed soldiers. In the foreground, Saint Peter pins the servant Malchus to the ground as he prepares to strike with a sword, while a torch illuminates the dense foliage above. In the background, a young man is seen fleeing naked, leaving his cloak behind in the hands of a soldier.

Hendrick Goltzius was a central figure in the Haarlem Mannerist circle, which was closely tied to the Neo-Stoic and 'Spiritualist' philosophy of Dirck Volckertszoon Coornhert. This print, part of a series imitating the style of Lucas van Leyden, reflects the Mannerist intellectual pursuit of 'ut pictura poesis' and the spiritual transformation of traditional religious narratives into complex visual exercises.