Agony in the Garden

Lorenzo Monaco's Agony in the Garden (c. 1390) at the Galleria dell'Accademia in Florence is an early work by the Camaldolese monk who would become one of the most important painters bridging the Gothic and early Renaissance periods. Working at the monastery of Santa Maria degli Angeli, the young Lorenzo was trained in the late Trecento Florentine tradition before developing the distinctive elongated forms and luminous color that would define the International Gothic style in Florence. The Agony in the Garden—Christ's prayer in Gethsemane before his arrest—was a subject that demanded the emotional intensity and mystical atmosphere at which Lorenzo would excel.

Tempera and gold on panel in an early phase of Lorenzo Monaco's style, before his fully mature International Gothic manner. The nocturnal garden scene shows the sleeping apostles and praying Christ with soft modeling and muted tones, anticipating the artist's later mastery of ethereal, visionary color.