Huntington Reunites Rare 15th Century Print with Gutenberg Bible
The Huntington Library, Art Museum, and Botanical Gardens
Christ on the Mount of Olives. Metal-cut relief print, hand-colored. Germany, ca. 1455–1465.
The Huntington Library has acquired the rare 15th century devotional print Christ on the Mount of Olives, reuniting it with the institution’s Gutenberg Bible.
Printed in the late 1450s or early 1460s, the illustration was bound within The Huntington’s copy of the Bible by an early owner shortly after the book was finished. The Bible and the print remained together for nearly four centuries before being separated in 1825 by an auctioneer. This acquisition brings together one of the world’s most influential books with its early pictorial insert for the first time in 200 years.
The print is on public display through May 26 in the Library Exhibition Hall, alongside the Gutenberg Bible.
Henry E. Huntington acquired the Gutenberg Bible at a 1911 auction for $55,000, equivalent to more than $1.8 million today. The record-breaking purchase cemented his reputation as a premier collector of rare books. Today, the Bible remains a highlight of The Huntington’s core collections.
“Designed to mimic a traditional handwritten manuscript, The Huntington’s Gutenberg Bible combines innovative printed text with exquisite hand-illuminated initials and border decorations, and now we know our Bible also had printed illustrations pasted in,” said Sandra Brooke Gordon, Avery Director of the Library. “Reuniting the print with The Huntington’s Bible deepens our understanding of this landmark of printing, how it was used and valued, enriching both scholarship and public appreciation.”
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The Huntington Library, Art Museum, and Botanical Gardens
The Huntington’s copy of the Gutenberg Bible
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The Huntington Library, Art Museum, and Botanical Gardens
The Huntington’s copy of the Gutenberg Bible
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The Huntington Library, Art Museum, and Botanical Gardens
The Huntington’s copy of the Gutenberg Bible
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The Huntington Library, Art Museum, and Botanical Gardens
The Huntington’s copy of the Gutenberg Bible
The devotional print depicts Christ in prayer on the night before his crucifixion. Latin inscriptions, like modern-day speech bubbles, convey the scene’s dramatic tension. In the upper right, Judas, holding a money bag, leads soldiers to arrest Christ, saying, “He whom I shall kiss, He is the one; seize Him” (Matthew 26:48). In the upper left, an angel urges Christ to remain steadfast as he prays: “Father, if it be possible, let this cup pass from me” (Matthew 26:39). Meanwhile, his disciples sleep nearby, and at the bottom of the print, an inscription reads: “And His sweat became like drops of blood running onto the ground” (Luke 22:44).
Christ on the Mount of Olives is one of three prints originally affixed inside the covers of The Huntington’s Gutenberg Bible, likely placed there by an early owner of the book. Created using the Schrotschnitt or “dotted metal cut” technique - an early metal plate printing method with hand-applied color - the print is a rare example of this antiquated printing style.
When the Gutenberg Bible was put up for sale in 1825, an auctioneer removed the three prints and sold them separately. Christ on the Mount of Olives remained in private hands for nearly two centuries before resurfacing in a family collection. It is now the earliest known example of this print style in The Huntington’s holdings.
