2-745-726 - Heritage Art/Heritage Images

The Supper at Emmaus, c. 1720. In the Gospel of Luke (24:30-31), two disciples walked to the town of Emmaus after the Crucifixion, and the resurrected Christ followed them unrecognized. At dinner that evening he revealed himself, took bread from the table, blessed it, broke it, and gave it to the two men. When the disciples realized who was before them, Jesus vanished. Here Christ appears just before tearing the bread. Piazzetta emphasizes the dramatic tension by placing only three monumental and isolated foreground figures before an indeterminate background. This painting's intimacy, limited palette, and careful attention to chiaroscuro effects are typical of Piazzetta's somber work, of which this canvas is an early example.