Altarpiece:
Prayer on the Mount of Olives
Duccio di Buoninsegna ca. 1255 – 1319
tempera on panel — 1308-11
Luke 22:39 - And he came out, and went, as he was wont, to the mount of Olives; and his disciples also followed him.
A panel of Duccio's polyptych Maestà. It shows three parts of the story of the Agony in the Garden. On the evening of the Last Supper, Jesus and his followers went to the Garden of Gethsemane to find rest, as they had often done before.
In the center Jesus tells Peter, James and John to "Pray that ye enter not into temptation". He then walks up the Mount of Olives in order to pray by himself. An angel appears and gives him strength. After the prayer he finds the apostles sleeping.
Duccio uses elements not told in every gospel. The angel only appears in Luke. The selection of three followers is only mentioned in Mark and Matthew.
>>> Maesta (Duccio)
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