The Betrayal of Christ

Ugolino di Nerio painted this dramatic Betrayal of Christ around 1326, depicting the moment when Judas identifies Jesus with a kiss in the Garden of Gethsemane. This narrative panel likely belonged to the predella or passion cycle of the Santa Croce altarpiece, Ugolino's monumental polyptych for the Franciscan church in Florence. Now in the National Gallery, London, it is one of the most emotionally compelling fragments of this dispersed masterpiece.

Executed in egg tempera on panel with gold ground, the densely packed composition creates dramatic tension through the crowding of figures around the central embrace of Judas and Christ. Ugolino employs expressive facial characterizations and agitated drapery to convey the chaos and treachery of the arrest scene.