Paul Gauguin, 'Christ in the Garden of Olives'
Listen to the Story: 7 minutes
Audio-only: (best on mobile)
Description:
We look at a painting by Paul Gauguin called ‘Christ in the Garden of Olives’. In addition to portraying Christ just moments before His Passion, Gauguin depicted his subject as a self-portrait. It is a melancholic painting not only because it elucidates Christ’s trauma in the Garden of Olives but also because it represents Gauguin’s tormented emotions over the demise of his friendship with Vincent Van Gogh, whom he had hoped to work with successfully. Gauguin had failed in friendship and success but his profound legacy lives on in the history of both secular and Christian art.
