Christus in het hof van Gethsemane 1576

Chrispijn van den Broeck created this engraving of Christ in the Garden of Gethsemane, and the fine lines establish a sombre mood. The composition is structured by the stark contrast between light and shadow. The sleeping disciples are arranged at the bottom, their forms rendered with dense cross-hatching, conveying a sense of depth and weight, contrasting with the ethereal vision of Christ. He is bathed in light, kneeling with arms spread in supplication. An angel hovers above him with the Eucharistic symbols of the cross and the chalice. This visual arrangement divides the earthly realm of human frailty from the divine sphere of sacrifice and redemption. Van den Broeck employs a semiotic language where the dense, dark lines signify the weight of earthly existence, and the sparse, bright areas represent divine presence. The artist invites us to contemplate the intersections of the sacred and the secular, the visible and the invisible, and the human and the divine. He employs a formal visual vocabulary to express complex theological and philosophical concepts. The symbolic meaning of the work is open to endless interpretation.