Frankfurt Dominican Altarpiece: The Agony in the Garden

Hans Holbein the Elder painted the Agony in the Garden for the Frankfurt Dominican Altarpiece around 1501. This ambitious altarpiece was one of Holbein's major commissions, created for the Dominican church in Frankfurt. The nocturnal Gethsemane scene tested his ability to render dramatic lighting effects. The tempera medium required careful preparation on a gessoed panel and a disciplined layering technique that produced precise, durable surfaces suited to the intricate detail expected of devotional painting.

Oil on panel with sophisticated nocturnal atmosphere and moonlit landscape. The sleeping apostles and the praying Christ are rendered with Holbein's characteristic psychological sensitivity within the atmospheric setting.