The Betrayal of Christ
This piece is a painting by Bartolomeo di Tomaso, an Italian painter that lived in the 15 century. His piece, The Betrayal of Christ, was painted from 1445-1450. It is about 8 ¾ x 17 inches big and has an irregular painted surface of 7 ¾ x 16 ⅛ inches. It is located today in The Metropolitan Museum of Art and was painted on a tempera on wood. It is very colorful and represents the betrayal of Christ.
This piece is very complex, and there is much to it. One example is that it has two scenes on one painting, one scene of Christ being arrested and an Apostle fleeing, and another of Christ’s body being mourned. One scene is when one of Christ’s Apostles, either Mark or John, flees as Christ is being arrested by the Romans. This is important because it shows that everyone, no matter how dedicated, may flee when danger strikes or when they or someone close to them may be hurt. We all think of running when we don’t want to face danger, and that is what the artist wanted us to know. I think that the main theme of this piece is that Christ is arrested, and some didn’t want to
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Maybe the artist did this because he wanted it to look like Christianity is very loose and forgiving compared to the strict rules of Judaism or Buddhism. There are shadows, but from the top of the painting, even though it is night, which means that the artist just wanted the shadows to add to the details and give the clothing some depth. The colors are warm and angry, probably to represent the anger and betrayal of the time. The background is dark to show that it is night time and they are arresting him at night. The piece is painted on wood, so the texture would probably be rough. There is lots of depth, for example, the fight is in the front up close, and the village is in the back along with hills and mountains. This piece is very colorful and has many components that represent more than just what you