The picture shows a detail of the scene Arrest in the Garden.
Christ is arrested at night. To show the soldiers which man is their victim, the yellow-clad Judas gives Jesus the traitor's kiss. In the foreground, Peter has thrown to the ground Malchus, a servant of the High Priest, and in a stroke has brought out the knife that will cut off the fallen man's ear. In this scene, Holbein takes up the challenge of painting a night scene by colourist means. The sky is shown in solid black, while flickering torches create dramatic light effects on the tree and the figures.
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