The Supper at Emmaus

The Supper at Emmaus

X-radiograph detail

The Supper at Emmaus

Artist:
Velázquez (Diego Rodríguez de Silva y Velázquez) (Spanish, Seville 1599–1660 Madrid)
Date:
1622–23
Medium:
Oil on canvas
Dimensions:
48 1/2 x 52 1/4 in. (123.2 x 132.7 cm)
Classification:
Paintings
Credit Line:
Bequest of Benjamin Altman, 1913

This painting depicts the moment after the Resurrection when Jesus is recognized by two disciples as "he took bread, blessed and broke it, and handed it to them." It may have been painted in Seville, where Velázquez first trained, or in Madrid, where he moved in 1623. The realism of the figures, the strong dramatic light, and the attention to still life details recall the work of Caravaggio, which Velázquez would have known in Seville through copies.

Provenance

José Cañaveral y Manuel de Villena, Seville (by 1870–at least 1891); Maria del Valle Gonzalez Moyano, widow Garzón, Seville (in 1899); Dr. Egli Sinclair, Zurich (by 1903; sale, Christie's, London, April 25, 1903, no. 101, for £315, bought in); ["a syndicate of Seville gentlemen" including Manuel de Soto, Zurich, and apparently also Heinemann, Munich, by 1906–at least 1909]; [Gimpel and Wildenstein, Paris, in 1910]; Benjamin Altman, New York (1910–13)

Copyright Image
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