Christ on the Mount of Olives, from "The Small Passion"

Christ on the Mount of Olives, from The Small Passion, is a seminal woodcut created by Albrecht Dürer in 1510. This print is one of thirty-six scenes that comprise Dürer’s influential Small Passion series, which achieved widespread distribution across Europe due to its manageable size and profound emotional depth. This collection solidified Dürer’s reputation as the preeminent master of German Renaissance prints, allowing sacred narratives to reach a broader audience through reproductive media during the early 16th century.

The work captures the moment in Gethsemane just before the arrest of Christ. The central figure of Christ kneels in anguished prayer, clearly separated by the rocky terrain from the sleeping Men-specifically, the disciples Peter, James, and John-who lie oblivious to the spiritual agony unfolding. Dürer employs dramatic contrast between light and shadow and utilizes highly intricate linework, hallmarks of his woodcut technique, to emphasize the solemnity of the event. Above the praying figure, an Angel appears, offering comfort or perhaps the symbolic cup of suffering. Dürer’s complex articulation of the figures and the detailed landscape demonstrates the technical limits he pushed within the demanding woodcut medium.

This specific impression of the 1510 print is held in the permanent collection of the Metropolitan Museum of Art. The remarkable clarity of the lines demonstrates the sustained quality of the original printing blocks. As works by Dürer from this period are crucial documentation of early German religious art and the history of printmaking, many impressions of The Small Passion series have entered the public domain, ensuring these historically significant prints remain widely accessible for study and appreciation worldwide.