A. Brogi, Ludovico Carracci, vol.I, Bologna 2001, pp. 203-4, cat. no. 92, reproduced vol. II, fig. 192. 

"The following condition report has been provided by Henry Gentle, an independent restorer who is not an employee of Sotheby's. The thin copper panel is in good condition with some slight deformations to the edges. The paint surface is stable but there is evidence of previous minute paint losses across the surface which have been retouched out and vertical shrinkage cracks that have been reduced. There are visible discoloured retouchings around the goblet. The figures are in good condition. The varnish is discoloured and the tonal quality would improve with its removal. Gold painted moulded frame, minor chips."
"This lot is offered for sale subject to Sotheby's Conditions of Business, which are available on request and printed in Sotheby's sale catalogues. The independent reports contained in this document are provided for prospective bidders' information only and without warranty by Sotheby's or the Seller."

This painting exists in two other autograph variants on copper, the prime one being generally considered that formerly in the Torlonia collection, Rome (later with Matthiesen Fine Art Ltd., London), although Brogi has recently argued for the present version being of superior quality to both of the other known versions.¹  All three compositions are almost identical in the disposition of the figures of Christ and the angel, but they differ slightly in colouring and light, as well as in their cloud formations and backgrounds. Carracci has underlined the spiritual essence of the episode of Christ in the Garden of Gethsemane: as noted by Feigenbaum and Brogi, Christ is shown in a position of submission before God the Father, whose presence is perceived through the supernatural light pouring through the stormclouds above. The colours are more intense and Christ's face is notably more expressive in the present copper than in the other two variants. The ex-Matthiesen painting was dated by Feigenbaum to shortly after 1590; an opinion later revised to the beginning of the 17th century. This dating was questioned by Brogi who believes the copper to date from the middle of the first decade, and a similar date of execution seems plausible for this work also.²

The inventory number 173 lower left almost certainly relates to a 17th-century collection to which this painting once belonged. This has not been firmly identified, although a painting of this subject by 'Carracci' is listed in the inventory of Cardinal Girolamo Colonna, dated August 1648, no. 58: "Un' quadro di un' Christo orante nel orto alto p.mi tre in circa con cornice indorata di mano del Caracci". The collection, housed in Palazzo 𝓀Colonna in Rome, comprised of many Emilian paintings (Guercino, Carracci, Reni, Albani and Sirani 🅘are amongst the artists listed) and most of these were probably acquired during Cardinal Girolamo's Bolognese sojourn (1632-1645).

1.  See A. Brogi, under Literature, pp. 202-4, cat. nos. 90-92, all reproduced vol. II, figs. 192-194.
2.  Brogi, op. cit., p. 203.