Agony In The Garden

Agony In the Garden

collection of Dr. Daren Martin

Agony In the Garden is a classic theme in Art history. It is the "scene" where Jesus is praying, knowing of His future crucifixion. For a moment He prays to the Heavenly Father "Let this cup pass before me." No one has told me differently, but I understand it to be the most "human" moment of Jesus' life. He's expressing doubt or ambivalence of His certain future. At the time I made this drawing, I was suffering from a sea of uncomfort and clung to the thought of Jesus in His "fleshly" experience. I'm still not too clear on the widely accepted defense of what the Agony In the Garden means (it's a dicey subject in the Church circles) but in my relationship to the Christ narrative, it is the tribunal reconciliation of sin that became the gift to humankind; God's grace, the Good News and every reason for living life because He loves you.

Technically, I chose to represent Jesus' facing, so that the viewer is projected into the image and contemplate His experience. We are looking past the sleeping disciples, who have shadows of guards cast on them, that double as our own and we understand our selves also as persecutors of Christ. I'm really happy with this drawing and glad that it is in Daren's collection.