Lot Essay
For discussion of the artist, see the catalogue note for the picture sold in these Rooms, 9 December 1994, lot 96.
The present picture is unique in that it is the only signed and dated painting by Liss; even the back of the copper is signed. Rüdiger Klessmann, in the 1975 exhibition catalogue, p. 132, speculates that the last digit of the date, which is unfortunately damaged, is probably an 8. He compares it to other works of the artist's last years of life in Venice, but points out that because it is a nocturnal picture, it cannot be compared directly with other works. In technique it is closest to the Ecstasy of Saint Paul in Berlin (see R. Klessmann, op. cit., 1975, no. A38, fig. 38). Both share a diagonal composition where the figures and forms are conceived in vibrant colours and light, the colours increasing in luminosity from deep purples and ink blues to dashes of yellow in the upper left where, in the Ecstasy of Saint Paul, the Trinity is revealed, and in the present picture the Cup, as a metaphor for Christ's suffering, is brought forward by rays of heavenly light. The jewel-like quality of the present picture, with its contrast of dense colours, sparkling light and the small-scale format and use of a copper support reflects Liss's continuing kinship with his fellow-countryman Adam Elsheimer. Klessmann also points out (ibid., p. 132) that the head of the angel is reminiscent of that in the Sacrifice of Isaac in the Uffizi, Florence (ibid., no. A35, fig. 36).
The present picture depicts Christ praying in the garden, during the night in which he is to be taken prisoner. An angel supports the collapsing Christ who gazes at the Cup, the symbol of his sacrificial death. In the dark background are armed men with torches who are coming for him. As Klessmann discusses, loc. cit., only the Gospel according to Saint Luke (Luke 22:39-43) mentions the angel who appears to Jesus on the Mount of Olives when He is in agony. Liss has combined this motif of comfort with the Cup, a metaphor for Christ's suffering, as it is written in the Gospel ('... remove this cup from me'), but as Klessmann observes, the painter's literal interpretation of the text is supported by the inclusion of drops of blood which are visible on the head of Christ: 'And His sweat became as it were great drops of blood falling down upon the ground'. In the present picture, Christ has slid down onto the red cloak lying on the ground, resembling a pool of blood.
The present picture is unique in that it is the only signed and dated painting by Liss; even the back of the copper is signed. Rüdiger Klessmann, in the 1975 exhibition catalogue, p. 132, speculates that the last digit of the date, which is unfortunately damaged, is probably an 8. He compares it to other works of the artist's last years of life in Venice, but points out that because it is a nocturnal picture, it cannot be compared directly with other works. In technique it is closest to the Ecstasy of Saint Paul in Berlin (see R. Klessmann, op. cit., 1975, no. A38, fig. 38). Both share a diagonal composition where the figures and forms are conceived in vibrant colours and light, the colours increasing in luminosity from deep purples and ink blues to dashes of yellow in the upper left where, in the Ecstasy of Saint Paul, the Trinity is revealed, and in the present picture the Cup, as a metaphor for Christ's suffering, is brought forward by rays of heavenly light. The jewel-like quality of the present picture, with its contrast of dense colours, sparkling light and the small-scale format and use of a copper support reflects Liss's continuing kinship with his fellow-countryman Adam Elsheimer. Klessmann also points out (ibid., p. 132) that the head of the angel is reminiscent of that in the Sacrifice of Isaac in the Uffizi, Florence (ibid., no. A35, fig. 36).
The present picture depicts Christ praying in the garden, during the night in which he is to be taken prisoner. An angel supports the collapsing Christ who gazes at the Cup, the symbol of his sacrificial death. In the dark background are armed men with torches who are coming for him. As Klessmann discusses, loc. cit., only the Gospel according to Saint Luke (Luke 22:39-43) mentions the angel who appears to Jesus on the Mount of Olives when He is in agony. Liss has combined this motif of comfort with the Cup, a metaphor for Christ's suffering, as it is written in the Gospel ('... remove this cup from me'), but as Klessmann observes, the painter's literal interpretation of the text is supported by the inclusion of drops of blood which are visible on the head of Christ: 'And His sweat became as it were great drops of blood falling down upon the ground'. In the present picture, Christ has slid down onto the red cloak lying on the ground, resembling a pool of blood.