The Supper at Emmaus

Description

This painting depicts the biblical story of the Supper at Emmaus, when the disguised, resurrected Christ suddenly reveals himself to two astonished disciples as they all sit down to dinner. The artist has painted the figures’ hands and the objects on the table meticulously, but leaves other details vague, including the background drapery, in order to heighten the unfolding drama.

Provenance

Giovanni Paolo Baglioni, San Cassiano, Venice, 1787; the family of Castiglioni, San Cassiano, Venice; Count Castiglioni (Padua, Italy); Italico Brass (Venice, Italy), sold to the Cleveland Museum of Art, 1931.

The Supper at Emmaus

Giovanni Battista Piazzetta

c. 1720

Accession Number

1931.245

Medium

oil on canvas

Dimensions

Framed: 133.4 x 167 x 9.5 cm (52 1/2 x 65 3/4 x 3 3/4 in.); Unframed: 108 x 140.6 cm (42 1/2 x 55 3/8 in.)

Classification

Painting

Museum

The Cleveland Museum of Art

Cleveland, United States

Credit Line

Purchase from the J. H. Wade Fund