Museum

Two episodes from Christ’s Passion––the Agony in the Garden and the Crucifixion––appear on the two sides of this copper panel, which may originally have been placed on a freestanding altar, perhaps in a private chapel. These episodes are the first and last of the five “sorrowful mysteries” that Catholics were encouraged to contemplate when praying the rosary. Here, Christ has been crucified; his grieving mother and John the Evangelist are the only mourners who remain at the foot of the cross.