The Betrayal of Christ

This monumental painting relates to one of the most important religious compositions of Van Dyck’s youth. In keeping with the accounts presented in the Synoptic Gospels and the Gospel of Saint John, The Betrayal of Christ takes place in the Garden of Gethsemane on the Mount of Olives. A crescent moon, a torch, and a fallen lantern cast a warm glow on this dramatic, nocturnal scene, in which a group of soldiers and Pharisees led by Judas storm the Mount to arrest Christ. Electric energy and diagonal movement define the mob, in which hunched poses and writhing limbs abound, providing a striking contrast to the still, perfectly vertical figure of Christ at right. Enveloped in a voluminous brown robe that accentuates his imposing stature, Judas takes the hand of Christ, whose solemn, downcast gaze signals his awareness of the treachery perpetuated by his former disciple. Adding to the tension and pathos of this crucial moment is the figure of St. Peter with his arm emphatically raised as he prepares to sever the ear of Malchus, who reaches out toward the viewer, thereby drawing us into the scene.

The precise circumstances surrounding Van Dyck’s creation of this composition remain unclear, although it seems likely that it was prompted by a commission from a religious institution. Three autograph versions of Van Dyck’s Betrayal of Christ are presently known. The first is at Corsham Court, on loan from the City of Bristol Museum and Art Gallery (274 x 222 cm.), and is believed by many to be the earliest of the group, although there is no scholarly consensus about the chronology of Van Dyck’s treatment of this composition (see S.J. Barnes et al., op. cit., 2004, pp. 33-37; A.K. Wheelock, Jr. et al., Anthony van Dyck, exhibition catalogue, Washington, 1990, pp. 114, 116; and P. Sutton et al., The Age of Rubens, exhibition catalogue, Boston and Toledo, 1993, pp. 325, 327). The absence of Saints Peter and Malchus from the foreground distinguishes the Corsham Court composition from the rest of the group. The most developed and celebrated version is the large painting now in the Prado, Madrid (fig. 1; 344 x 249 cm.), which was originally owned by Sir Peter Paul Rubens and acquired from his estate in 1640 by King Philip IV of Spain. Rubens probably commissioned the Prado painting as a replica of Van Dyck’s initial religious commission, and it has been speculated that Rubens was therefore closely involved in the genesis of the composition (S.J. Barnes et al., op. cit., p. 37). Finally, there is the 'monumental oil sketch' in the Minneapolis Museum of Art (142 x 113 cm.), a canvas painted in a startlingly sketchy style, in which the figures of Saints Peter and Malchus are oriented in the opposite direction (ibid., p. 35). Discussing Van Dyck’s treatment of The Betrayal of Christ in general, Nora De Poorter writes that it reveals 'the full range of his virtuosity and power of expression. Rubensian and Italian elements are assimilated into a composition that is striking for its individual sensitivity and consummate handling of movement, illumination and the display of emotions' (S.J. Barnes et al., op. cit., p. 33).

Though the present painting has been known to scholars for some time, its relationship to the other three versions has only recently been understood. In terms of scale and composition, it is closest to the version in the Prado, which should be noted, includes an approximately 0.62 cm. strip added to the upper part of the canvas by Van Dyck himself, possibly during a second stage. Several compositional details distinguish the present composition from the version in Spain as it appears today. Most obviously, the extended portion of the Prado painting is not reproduced here. More subtle differences include: the slip knot on the robe to the left of Judas’s head; the left hand of the bearded man who crouches directly behind the betrayer, which rests on a fold of Judas’s cloak; the left arm of the armored soldier at left, which is visible above St. Peter’s head; and the slashed, sleeveless garment worn by the bearded man behind Judas. Remarkably, as Alejandro Vergara has recently observed, X-radiographs reveal that many of these elements, such as the bearded man’s slashed shirt, were originally present in the Prado painting (A. Vergara, “The Implications for Connoisseurship of the Workshop System of Production”, lecture presented at Codart Negentien congress: Connoisseurship: Between Intuition and Science, held at the Prado, Madrid, 20 June 2016). These corresponding details suggest that the present painting was created in Van Dyck’s studio by someone familiar with the version now in the Prado before Van Dyck made his alterations. Moreover, the high quality of many of the details, particularly the face of Christ and several of the other figures, opens the possibility that the master himself may have played a role in its creation. As such, the present Betrayal of Christ provides a fascinating glimpse into Van Dyck’s artistic practices at this early stage of his career.

While it is difficult to chart the earliest history of the present painting, it seems probable that this was the "belle pièce de Van Dyck, dont les figures sont d’hauteur naturelle (lovely piece by Van Dyck, with life-size figures)” seen by Michel in the collection of a Mr. Dierixsens in Antwerp around 1771 (J.F.M. Michel, loc. cit.; see also S. Barnes et al., op. cit., p. 37). The Dierixsens painting was apparently seen by Jean Honoré Fragonard, who made a drawing of it during his trip to Flanders in the spring of 1773. This drawing was sold on 12 April 1778 (see M.A. Ananoff, L'oeuvre dessiné de Jean-Honoré Fragonard, Paris, 1963, II, p. 180, no. 1071) and is now lost. A copy by Gabriel de Saint-Aubin (Musée du Petit-Palais, Paris), however, provides a sense of the appearance of Fragonard's drawing (see S. Raux, op. cit., p. 24, fig. 8). Sir Joshua Reynolds also records having seen the painting in the Dierixsens collection when he was in Antwerp in 1771 (see H. Mount, ed. loc. cit.).