Betrayal of Christ
Maker Unknown
Date: 15th century
Place Made: England
Materials & Techniques: Alabaster
Dimensions: 43 cm x 25.5 cm
Accession Number: The Bowes Museum, S.123
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This piece is made from a type of stone called alabaster. It shows the story of how Christ was betrayed by Judas with a kiss. Many people in the medieval period could not read and so the way in which stories were passed down was through pictures. It was perhaps designed as part of an altarpiece to hang in a church. It was not meant to be carried around for prayer as it is very heavy.
This piece is a relief. This means that the sculptor who made it would have chiselled the picture from the piece of stone so that the figures stand proud of the background. It was originally painted, known as 'polychrome', but due to its age there is only a little of the paint left on the faces of the people and on the landscape at their feet.
Teachers' Information
Christ in the centre is embraced by Judas. On Judas's left, a soldier in armour holds Christ's garment in his left hand. On his right, Simon Peter is about to draw his sword. Four soldiers in armour clasping weapons stand close together behind Christ and are head and shoulders taller than him. In his right foreground kneels a devil in medieval costume, wearing a purse and turning its head upwards. Christ, who has been betrayed by Judas with a kiss, extends his hands in a gesture of non-resistance.
Activities
1. This piece is telling a story. Ask the children to think about an event that is important to them and to capture this as a piece of art work. What form would the art work take and why? Which materials would they use and why?
2. Relief sculptures were often based on drawings and engravings. Sculptors had to think very carefully about how to adapt a picture into a relief sculpture, especially about how far each different part of the picture should stand out from the flat background. Pupils could plan their own relief sculpture, based on their own drawing. Photocopy a pencil sketch and ask children to colour-code it in the following way:
Purple – flat background
Blue – low relief (objects in the picture that are almost flat)
Green – mid relief (objects in the picture that stand out a bit)
Yellow – high relief (objects in the picture that stand out a lot)
Pupils could then try to recreate their picture in plasticine to see how successful their colour-coding was.