The Betrayal of Christ

Bartolomeo di Tommaso's Betrayal of Christ at the Metropolitan Museum, painted around 1445, depicts the dramatic moment in Gethsemane when Judas identifies Christ with a treacherous kiss as Roman soldiers and Temple guards move in to arrest him. The Betrayal was one of the most narratively charged scenes in the Passion cycle, combining intimate physical contact — the kiss of betrayal — with violent crowd action and the moment of divine abandonment. Bartolomeo di Tommaso was an Umbrian painter active in Foligno, working in the tradition of Ottaviano Nelli and the Umbrian Gothic school while absorbing influences from both Sienese and Venetian painting. His treatment of the Betrayal reflects the Umbrian tradition of emotionally direct devotional painting that favored clarity of narrative over decorative refinement. The Metropolitan Museum's collection of Italian primitive panel painting is one of the finest in the United States, providing comprehensive context for understanding the regional schools that contributed to the richness of fifteenth-century Italian art. This Passion panel was likely part of a larger cycle intended for a confraternity or church in Foligno or the surrounding territory.

The garden scene is filled with a pressing crowd of soldiers and disciples, rendered in Bartolomeo di Tommaso's characteristic expressive style with bold color and the vigorous, somewhat rough figure drawing of the Umbrian school.