Jesus Prays in Art
The subject of Jesus praying is not one of the more popular themes in art history. We’ll present just three. Two of them are among the most familiar images in Christendom.
Heinrich Hofmann, a German artist who lived in the 1800s, painted the definitive portrait of Jesus praying in the Garden of Gethsemane as shown above. This painting has been copied or reproduced more than any other single religious work of art. Most artists who followed Hofmann in history reference the work and depict Jesus in similar posture and positioning. They use slightly different colors but the root of their work is Hofmann’s portrait.
The original painting is in Riverside Church in New York City, along with a few other works by Hofmann, which include the well-known portrait of boy Jesus in the Temple.
Here’s another drawing of Jesus in Gethsemane by a contemporary of Hofmann’s. The artist was William Brassey Hole. He lived in Scotland from 1846-1917. In this painting, Jesus is a small detail amidst an imposing garden. Is that how you sometimes feel when you talk to God? Does it make you feel part of something larger? Or does it make you feel less significant?
Last, we present the work of Albrecht Durer, a 16th century contemporary of Martin Luther. This work was also copied by other aspiring artists who idolized Durer’s draftsmanship. You can almost see the blood pulsing through the veins!
Just for fun let’s compare the hands of Christ in two of these paintings. Below is a detail of the most famous painting of Jesus praying.
