Supper at Emmaus (Caravaggio)
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| The Lord's Supper at Emmaus |
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| Michelangelo Merisi da Caravaggio , 1601 |
| Oil on canvas |
| 141 x 196.2 cm |
| National Gallery (London) |
The Last Supper at Emmaus by Michelangelo Merisi da Caravaggio is a painting that has come down to us in two versions. The 1601 execution, located in the National Gallery in London, was painted for the Roman nobleman Ciriaco Mattei and was later bought by Cardinal Scipione Caffarelli Borghese . A later heavily modified version dates from 1606, which he made for the banker Ottavio Costa and hangs in the Pinacoteca di Brera in Milan.
theme
The story on which the picture is based comes from the Gospel of Luke and takes place on the day after Christ's resurrection. Two disciples were on their way to the village of Emmaus when they met Jesus. This was their first meeting after his arrest. Caravaggio depicts the moment when the resurrected Jesus reveals himself to two of his disciples ( Cleopas, mentioned by name in the Gospel of Luke , and his companion not mentioned by name): “And it happened when he was sitting at table with them, he took the bread, thanked me, broke it and gave it to them. Then their eyes were opened and they recognized him. And he disappeared from them. ”- Luke 24: 30–31. At the time of Caravaggio this episode of the Bible was interpreted as the archetype of the Eucharistic blessing .
The disciple on the right side wears a scallop shell on his robe, a sign of the pilgrim, which among other things allows him to be identified as James the Elder . The other disciple is wearing a jacket with holes in it. The gesture of the right disciple almost goes beyond the scope of the perspective representation - his arms stretch in an axis normal to the plane of the picture. The standing landlord observes the scene, but shows little emotion.
execution
The rare depiction of Jesus without a beard possibly goes back to the early images of Christ that were discovered in Caravaggio's time. Even Michelangelo , who was a great role model for Caravaggio, already has the beardless Jesus in his fresco "The Last Judgment" in the Sistine Chapel painted. The dark background and the detailed still life in the foreground are also unusual in the depiction . The clergy of that time were outraged by the realistic portrayal of Caravaggio's characters, especially the poor appearance of the disciples.
The use of light as a dramatic element ( chiaroscuro ) is typical of Caravaggio . The gaze is drawn to the enlightened faces of Jesus and James. As in the perspective of Luke's hands, the logic of the image is also suspended here - the landlord, like the objects on the table, would have to cast a shadow to the right and thus darken Jesus. Instead, we see his shadow diagonally behind him on the wall.
Caravaggio painted a second version of the Last Supper at Emmaus in 1606. Compared to the first version, the figures are more withdrawn, the presence dominates over the dynamic of the movements.
interpretation
With his reserved pose, the standing innkeeper forms the psychological contrast to the astonished disciples. He probably represents an unbeliever's skepticism. The art historians, however, note a certain ambivalence for the conception of this figure: its shadow forms a circle around Jesus' head, whereby the landlord seems unknowingly to underline the holiness of the Messiah.
The still life in the foreground takes up the central message of the picture. The rotten apples and figs symbolize the original sin. The pomegranate, on the other hand, is a well-known symbol for the resurrection of Christ and redemption from sin.
Versions of other painters
- Juan de Flandes (1465–1519): The meal at Emmaus . 1497.
- Juan de Flandes (1465–1519): The meal at Emmaus . 1512.
- Jacopo da Pontormo (1494–1557): Christ and the disciples in Emmaus . 1525. Oil on canvas, Florence , Uffizi Gallery (based presumably on a model by Albrecht Dürer and in its realism is a forerunner of the first Caravaggio version).
- Bartolomeo Cavarozzi (1590-1625): The meal at Emmaus . (Version by a Caravaggio student in the Getty Museum).
- Jacopo Bassano (1515–1592): The Last Supper in Emmaus . 1538. Oil on canvas, 235 × 250 cm (a mannerist version in which the surprise is more to be found in the face of the cat who sees the dog than in the faces of the disciples. The atmosphere here is also much less poor).
- Titian (1488 / 90–1576): The pilgrims of Emmaus . 16th century, oil on canvas, 169 × 244 cm, Paris, Louvre (it also shows dog and cat.
- Paolo Veronese (1528–1588): The Last Supper in Emmaus . 1559/60, Paris, Louvre.
- Pedro Orrente (1580–1645): Christ and the disciples of Emmaus . 17th century, oil on canvas, 81 × 101 cm, Budapest, Szépművészeti Múzeum )
- Velazquez (1599–1660): Christ and the disciples in Emmaus . 17th century, oil on canvas, 123 × 132.6 cm, New York , Metropolitan Museum of Art .
- Mathieu Le Nain (1607–1677): The pilgrims of Emmaus . 17th century, 75 cm × 92 cm, Paris, Louvre)
- Rembrandt (1606–1669): Christ in Emmaus . 1629.
- Rembrandt (1606–1669): The Last Supper at Emmaus . 1648, oil on panel, Paris, Louvre, (a classical depiction, with a halo around Jesus' face.
- Eugène Delacroix (1798–1863): The meal in Emmaus . 1853.
- Pierre Jouffroy (1912–2000): The Pilgrims of Emmaus . Voujeaucourt , Church of St. Michel
Individual evidence
- ↑ a b Patrick de Rynk: The art of reading pictures. Deciphering and understanding the old masters ("How to Read a Painting. Decoding, understanding and enjoying the old masters", 2004). Verlag Parthas, Berlin 2005, ISBN 3-86601-695-6 .
- ^ Web Gallery of Art, image collection, virtual museum, searchable database of European fine arts (1000-1850) . Wga.hu. Retrieved July 3, 2010.
- ^ The Supper at Emmaus (Getty Museum) . Getty.edu. Archived from the original on January 3, 2006. Retrieved July 3, 2010.
- ^ Web Gallery of Art, image collection, virtual museum, searchable database of European fine arts (1000-1850) . Wga.hu. Retrieved July 3, 2010.
- ↑ 'Supper at Emmaus', by Titian | Artwork of the Month . Liverpool museum. Retrieved July 3, 2010.
- ↑ Olga Mataev: Rembrandt. The Supper at Emmaus. - Olga's Gallery . Abcgallery.com. Retrieved July 3, 2010.
