Agony in the Garden, 1503-1505

This preparatory study shows Christ in a moment of intense spiritual agony, looking toward a faint angel in the upper right. Below him, the three disciples are slumped in exhaustion, their heavy forms contrasting with the verticality of the praying Christ. The drawing is executed in pen and brown ink, with visible pinpricks along the outlines indicating its use for pouncing and transferring the composition to a panel.