Christ on the Mount of Olives

Caracciolo, Caravaggio’s most important successor in Naples, combines the biblical story of Jesus’ terrified prayer on the Mount of Olives in the night of his capture and the consoling appearance of the angel, with an intense appeal to the devout. By blending devotional picture and pictorial narration, the painter gives Jesus the traditional features of a “figure of suffering”. The dramatic bright-dark contrast, the cool colouring and the porcelain-like body surfaces lend this early work a singular austerity.