SUPPER AT EMMAUS

According to the Gospel of St. Luke, after the death of Christ, two of his disciples traveling down the road to Emmaus met a stranger and invited him to join them.  At supper the stranger blessed the bread and broke it to give to the disciples.  Immediately the disciples saw the stranger was Christ risen from the dead.  

This painting dramatically captures the moment when the disciples realize the stranger is Christ himself. Caravaggio painted this masterpiece in 1601 for a Roman nobleman and avid art collector.  The painting contains all the stylistic elements that Caravaggio is noted for: the realistic figures and the dramatic changes of light and dark, known as chiaroscuro.

This painting is part of London's National Gallery of Art's permanent collection, but in late 2009, the National Gallery lent the painting to the Art Institute of Chicago for three months in return for borrowing a painting by Francisco de Zurbará which would play a key part in an exhibition. During a visit to the Art Institute, I was fortunate to be able to see the painting on display.

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This post was originally published in my blog Tutti Capolavori on October 16, 2012. 
The photo was taken by me during my visit to the Art Institute of Chicago.