La Cena de Emaús (1622-1623)

Velázquez, Diego (1599-1660)

La Cena de Emaús (The Supper at Emmaus)
16221623
Oil on canvas, 123.2 x 132.7 cm
Metropolitan Museum of ArtNew York

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.” The subject provided Velázquez the opportunity to explore contrasts in reactions through gesture, expression, and use of dramatic lighting. He may have painted it in Seville, where he first trained, or in Madrid, where he moved in 1623. Velázquez may have been inspired by the work of Caravaggio, which he would have known through copies. (MET)