In a dim inn, the risen Christ raises his hand to bless the bread, and at that instant two disciples recognise him: one flings his arms wide, the other grips his chair as he starts to rise, while the innkeeper beside them notices nothing. Caravaggio set an earth-shaking miracle in the middle of an ordinary supper.
Key facts
- Artist
- Caravaggio1571–1610 · Italian
- Date
- 1601
- Period
- Baroque1600–1720
- Medium
- Oil on canvas
- Dimensions
- 141 × 196.2 cm
- Location
- The National Gallery London, United Kingdom
Actual size
Compared with an adult 170 cm tall
Palette
#261818#4D3126#8B6A59#090303#DDD0C1Background
According to the Gospel of Luke, after the Resurrection two disciples met Jesus on the road to Emmaus but did not recognise him. When they sat down to supper, he took the bread, blessed and broke it, and their eyes were opened; at that moment he vanished from their sight.
The painting was commissioned by the Roman nobleman Ciriaco Mattei, one of Caravaggio's important patrons. Caravaggio had just finished The Calling of Saint Matthew in San Luigi dei Francesi and was at the height of his fame. The picture is now in the National Gallery, London.
Technique & composition
This is Caravaggio's at its most typical: a strong light falls from the upper left onto and the table, while the background sinks into darkness. The figures are life-size, as if seated right in front of us.
Caravaggio uses bold : reach one into the depth of the picture and the other seemingly out of it, and hangs over the table's edge as if about to fall at our feet. The painted space spills into our own.
Details
Symbolism
The unrecognised Christ
here is beardless and full-faced, quite unlike the usual image. The Gospel of Mark says that after the Resurrection Jesus appeared to the disciples “in another form”; this may be Caravaggio's source, and it explains why they failed to recognise him.
The pilgrim and the basket
is the badge of a pilgrim, and has a hole in his elbow — they are poor, ordinary men. The grapes and pomegranate in symbolise Christ's blood and Resurrection; some scholars even note that the basket's shadow on the cloth resembles a fish, the early Christians' secret sign for Christ.
Stories
- Did you know?
, cap on his head and face in shadow, shows no reaction to the miracle before him. He stands for those blind to the truth of faith, in contrast to the two astonished disciples.
- Did you know?
The story takes place in spring, soon after Easter, yet holds autumn fruits such as grapes and apples. Some see a slip by Caravaggio, others a choice of symbolism over season. In 1606 he painted another, much quieter version, now in Milan.
Legacy
The Supper at Emmaus brought a sacred miracle into everyday life, reaching the viewer directly through real, humble people, dramatic light and gestures that break out of the frame. It influenced Baroque painting across Europe, and Rembrandt returned to the same subject several times.
