The figures crowd and intertwine in the foreground. On the left, an elderly bearded man, whose appearance would hardly suggest such energy, has thrown a man to the ground while brandishing a scimitar above his head. This is Saint Peter, who has struck down the soldier Malchus and is about to cut off his ear, while on the right, a platoon of soldiers seizes Christ. Near Christ’s face, the reddish figure glancing askance is Judas, hidden among the soldiers who are pulling and striking Jesus. Behind them, two more soldiers sound the alarm with a trumpet, announcing the success of Christ’s capture. Everywhere, there are truncated faces, tense muscles, and frenzied movements. Spiral lines alternate with broken diagonals and opposing masses, while the colors are cold and vivid, with broad areas of golden yellow, blue, and red, over which Coecke has superimposed abundant ornamental and chased elements, such as in the Roman-style sandals of the soldier to Christ’s left, as well as on his shield, helmets, and weapons. This method of layering marks and tones is typical of the artist .

From a technical point of view, the painting is full of so-called “pentimenti,” or revisions of certain details during the final painting phase. This feature is traditionally used to distinguish the work of the Master from that of workshop assistants: apprentices tended to follow the model slavishly without allowing themselves particular variations, whereas the more capable a master, the greater the freedom with which he would modify the composition. Coecke habitually adopted this making it almost a signature characteristic. This aspect, already visible to the naked eye with careful observation (for example, the profile of Saint Peter’s raised hand becomes even more striking when considering the underdrawing of the work. The preparatory drawing reveals a countless number of compositional changes, to the point that it could almost be regarded as a different painting compared to the final result.