The Arrest of Christ
Master of Dreux Budé·1450
Historical Context
The Arrest of Christ by the Master of Dreux Budé, painted around 1450 and now in the Louvre, is one of the key Passion cycle panels by this important anonymous master of mid-fifteenth-century French painting. The Arrest in the Garden of Gethsemane — the moment when Judas betrayed Christ with a kiss and Roman soldiers seized him — was a scene of intense dramatic energy, providing painters opportunity to render the clash of torchlight, the confusion of multiple figures, and the emotional extremity of betrayal.
Technical Analysis
Oil and tempera on panel. The night scene is rendered with the torchlight illumination that would become a major technical challenge and achievement in Flemish and French painting of the period. Multiple figures press together in a shallow, crowded space.
