雅各布‧里葛茲

This hitherto unrecorded copper has been recently recognized as a late work by Jacopo Ligozzi. Ligozzi treated the subject of the Agony in the Garden on a few separate occasions, these include a drawing (circa 1606) in the Musée du Louvre, and the central painting on copper (1608) in the portable altar, now in the Allen Memorial Art Musuem, Oberlin College, Oberlin, Ohio (inv. 1958.1), though the present composition stands apart in that here Christ does not rest on the lap of the angel, but rather prays on his knees. 

After a period under the employment of the Habsburg family in Vienna, Ligozzi moved to Florence circa 1576 where, swiftly recognized for his exceptional talent, he was engaged by the Medici for the Grand-Ducal workshop.  The artist was hired primarily as a draftsman, documenting flora and fauna from the gardens and menageries of the Medici with extraordinary naturalism and detail.  Following the death of Giorgio Vasari however, he became capomaestro of the studio, serving Francesco I, Ferdinando I, Cosimo II and Ferdinando II, and was involved in the decoration of the Tribuna, Loggia and the rooms that later became the Uffizi Gallery.  He remained in Florence under the patronage of the Medici family for the duration of his career.  During his long career he painted on both large and small scale, executed scientific illustrations and finished drawings, designed tapestries, glass, pietre dure and precious objects, especially in metal and stone.

We are grateful to Francesca Baldassari for endorsing the attribution to Ligozzi, based on first hand inspection.