Betrayal of Christ, from "The Passion"

Betrayal of Christ, from "The Passion" by Albrecht Dürer is a masterful copperplate engraving created in 1508. This Northern Renaissance print captures the dramatic climax of Christ’s final hours, depicting the chaos and tension immediately following Judas’s kiss in the Garden of Gethsemane. Dürer, renowned for his revolutionary application of the burin, employs intricate cross-hatching and varied line weight to achieve remarkable depth and texture typical of his mature period. The dark sky and sharply rendered figures emphasize the violence of the moment, a technical precision that allowed the artist to explore complex narrative and emotional intensity within the small format of the graphic work.

The composition is crowded with aggressive figures, highlighting the confrontation between the divine figure of Jesus and the secular authority represented by the arresting party. Soldiers armed with various swords and lances press around Christ, injecting an element of battle-like urgency into the religious narrative. Dürer’s choice to create this scene as an engraving allowed for wide dissemination across Europe, contributing significantly to the reputation of Northern European prints during the early 16th century. This specific depiction is part of Dürer's influential series dedicated to Christ’s suffering, a project that solidified his reputation as the preeminent graphic artist of his era. This powerful piece remains a cornerstone example of the artist's graphic genius and is currently housed in the permanent collection of the Metropolitan Museum of Art.