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Caravaggio Painted the Supper at Emmaus Twice: What Changed
In 1601 Caravaggio painted the moment Christ is recognised at Emmaus with drama and bright colour. Five years later, after fleeing Rome, he painted it again, quieter and darker.
Image not reproduced
The Supper at Emmaus (London)
Cena in Emmaus
- Artist
- Caravaggio
- Date
- 1601
- Medium
- Oil on canvas
- Dimensions
- 141 × 196.2 cm
- Location
- The National Gallery, London, LondonInventory no. NG172
Caravaggio's first version of the Supper at Emmaus, painted in 1601 for Ciriaco Mattei: the moment two disciples recognise the risen Christ, told with dramatic gestures and bright colour.
Historical context
Painted in 1601 for the Roman nobleman Ciriaco Mattei, the work was presented to the National Gallery by George Vernon in 1839.1
Interpretation
Christ is shown young and beardless, and the light behind his head works like a reverse halo.1
Symbols and meanings
- The teetering basketEstablished fact
- Fruit at the very edge of the table, as if about to fall into our space.Michelangelo Merisi da Caravaggio, The Supper at Emmaus (NG172)
- The beardless ChristInterpretation
- An unusual image that helps explain why the disciples do not recognise him at first.Michelangelo Merisi da Caravaggio, The Supper at Emmaus (NG172)
Sources
- 1Michelangelo Merisi da Caravaggio, The Supper at Emmaus (NG172). The National Gallery, London
