The Supper at Emmaus by Caravaggio , Luke 24:13-35, Bible.Gallery
The Supper at Emmaus is a oil and tempera on canvas painting by Caravaggio (1571–1610), created in 1601. Measuring 141 × 196 cm, it depicts the biblical scene from Luke 24:13-35.
Artwork Description
Caravaggio's "The Supper at Emmaus" (1601) depicts the powerful moment from Luke 24:13-35 when the resurrected Christ reveals himself to two disciples at the village of Emmaus. According to the Gospel of Luke, after Christ's death, two followers journey to Emmaus and encounter a stranger they do not recognize as the risen Christ. During their evening meal, Christ breaks bread, revealing his identity before vanishing.
The composition features four male figures around a laden table. Christ sits centrally, wearing red and white robes with his right arm raised in blessing. Two disciples flank him — one older man with outspread arms forming a cross shape, wearing a pilgrim's shell brooch; the other seated with his back to the viewer, gripping his chair in astonishment. The innkeeper stands unshaven, oblivious to the revelation unfolding before him.
Caravaggio employs dramatic chiaroscuro — stark contrasts between light and shadow — to convey meaning. Christ and the believing disciples are brightly illuminated, while the innkeeper remains in shadow. A fruit basket teeters on the table's edge, with symbolic elements including bread, wine, and a roasted bird arranged throughout. The painting, now in the National Gallery in London, exemplifies Caravaggio's genius for transforming religious narrative into immediate, visceral experience, collapsing the distance between biblical history and the viewer's daily reality.