The Remorse of Judas, by Edward Armitage. 1866. Size: support, 1276 x 2013 mm; frame, 1590 x 2327 x 150 mm. Collection: Tate (presented by the artist in 1866). Reference N00759. – GPL
Another of Edward Armitage's large-scale canvases, this one shows the episode from Matthew 27: 3-4, in which an anguished Judas realises what he has done and tries to return the thirty pieces of silver for which he betrayed Jesus. According to the art critic in the Illustrated London News,
Mr. Armitage — another painter who has shown himself equal to important monumental works, and those of the highest and severest order — fully sustains his reputation in this direction by a picture, with figures larger than life, representing, with extraordinary power and lurid effectiveness, "The Remorse of Judas." The arch-betrayer, with the traditionary red hair and an aspect more sinister than the bird of prey and "ill omen" which, as if anticipating a repast, hovers above him in the miraculously-darkening sky, stands at the door of the Temple, offering the thirty pieces of silver to certain of the "chief priests and elders," who repulse him disclaimingly, or turn from him in haughty indifference. [474]
The critic continues, "The artist's versatility is shown by another picture, which we have engraved and described in this Number."
Related material
Bibliography
“Exhibition at the Royal Academy.” The Illustrated London News. 48 (12 May 1866): 474. Hathi Diigital Library Trust version of a copy in the University of Chicago Library. Web. 6 January 2016.
Last modified 12 October 2019