Dinner In Emmaus

Emilian School, 18th century

Dinner in Emmaus

Oil on canvas, cm 32 x 46

The painting represents the culmination of the action of the episode described in the Gospel of Luke: two disciples of Christ, Cleopas on the left and James the Great, as suggested by the pilgrim shell on the right shoulder, recognize the risen Jesus at the moment when he makes the gesture of blessing bread and wine, thus alluding to the sacrament of the Eucharist. They had previously met the Christ on the road between Jerusalem and Emmaus, but without realizing his real identity; The disbelief of the two disciples is therefore manifested with even greater force at the moment when they recognize their master believed now deceased after the tragic crucifixion. The episode enjoys a wide fame in modern painting and has been taken up by great artists who have traced a real figurative type over the centuries. The subject, as well as those of the Last Supper or the Marriage of Cana, is perfect to demonstrate the many qualities of a painter: the emotivity of the faces of the different characters, The setting and the details of the table and dishes make it possible to combine specific genres within a single work. In this case, alluding to the great examples of the past, we find faces, like that of Christ illuminated by divine light, which make us think of the Emilian school or at least Italian center. The light emanating from the head of Jesus illuminates the whole scene and to it are contrasted the darkness of the dark room, thus creating strong chiaroscuro effects that seem to have learned the important lesson of Caravaggio, whose versions of the Supper in Emmaus, one in Milan the other in London, are among the greatest examples of this sacred event. On the contrary, expressiveness is here completely different, softened and muffled compared to the exceptional of the moment: the souls and gestures of the disciples, as well as those of the waiter who serves at the table, do not create tension and do not show a strong impact. As the light spreads from the face of Christ at the same time it seems to transmit a sense of peace and calm to the environment, almost to appease the upheaval of those present through an ecstatic look upwards while performing the gesture of the Eucharist. Although the environment is poorly illuminated, the colors of the robes emerge with their brilliance, approaching the Venetian tonality at the level of yield, with a dense and full-bodied brush, which ends by accurately describing the features of Jesus or the details of the dishes and foods placed on the dining table.