Christus in de hof van Getsemane

Giovanni Volpato made this print of Christ in the Garden of Gethsemane using etching and engraving techniques, sometime around the late 18th century. Volpato was working in Rome at a time when the Catholic Church was struggling to maintain its authority in the face of Enlightenment thinking, so we can understand this devotional image as part of the Church’s effort to shore up religious belief through art. Notice the highly ornamental frame, typical of the Rococo style popular at the time. This ornate decoration, with its asymmetrical curves and floral motifs, gives the image a sense of theatricality. The angel appears in a cloud, offering Christ a chalice, while the disciples sleep nearby, unaware of the momentous events unfolding. To fully understand this print, we might consult Church records, art criticism from the period, and biographies of Volpato and his patrons. The meaning of art is always bound up with the social conditions in which it is made and received.