the supper at emmaus - caravaggio

The Supper at Emmausc.1601 : 

The Supper at Emmausc.1601 A drama at a dinner party by Michelanglo Merisi da Caravaggio (1571-1610) at the National Gallery, London Jerry Tse, June 2005. London. Version 1.0 All rights reserved. Available free for non-commercial and non-profit use only.

Caravaggio, the man : 

Caravaggio, the man Michelangelo Merisi, commonly known as Caravaggio, was very influential in the history of painting. He was born in Milan c1571, where he served his art apprenticeship. Caravaggio then moved to Rome in search of work between 1588-1590. His life was unruly, dramatic and violent. Constantly in trouble with the police for street brawls, he committed a murder in 1606 which forced him to be on the run, for the rest of his life. Carravagio fled to Naples, then to Malta (1607) where he was knighted by the Order of St. John. After assaulting a Justiciary, he was imprisoned which he then subsequently escaped to Sicily. He went to Naples in 1609 where his enemies finally caught up with him. The following year he travelled by boat to Porto Ercole (nr. Rome), where he was arrested by mistake and released. He contracted a fever here and died on the 18 July 1610, age 38. Portrait of Caravaggio on the old Lire note. The severed head of Goliath, painted in 1609-10, is probably a self-portrait. Shown offering his own head, like a hunted creature, wanted by the authorities and enemies alike.

The Story : 

The Story Supper at Emmaus. 1601. Caravaggio. National Gallery. London. In Luke (24:13-32), the Bible tells the story of two apostles meeting a stranger on their way to the village of Emmaus. They talked about Jesus’ Crucifixion, three days earlier, and his body’s disappearance from his tomb. At dinner, the stranger blesses and breaks the bread, prompting the apostles to realize that the stranger is Jesus. He then vanishes from their sight. On the left of the painting is probably Cleophas, one of the apostles. Opposite is probably Peter, who wears a sea shell to show he is a pilgrim. The innkeeper is depicted standing beside Jesus. Why did the apostles not recognise Jesus? Born 29 Sept in Milan 1577 Father dies 1584 Apprenticeship with Simone Peterzano until 1588 1592 Moved to Rome 1599 First public commission 1603 Litigated for defamation. 1605 Arrested for carrying a fire arm without a permit, in a fight. Wounded a lawyer. 1606 Flees Rome for Naples following murder 1608 Stays in Malta and becomes a knight 1609 Returns to Naples badly wounded 1610 Dies of malaria on 18th July.

The Technique & Styles : 

The Technique & Styles The single most important hallmark of Caravaggio’s painting styles is a dark background. Mostly illuminated by a single strong light source, diagonally from the left, creating a stark contrast between brightness and blackness; chiaroscuro. So next time you see a painting or a photo with a dark background, it can be traced back to Caravaggio. He painted with a vivid and uncompromising sense of realism, exemplified by dirty feet, rotting fruits, shabby and ageing saints. His paintings are overwhelmed with the truthfulness of seeing and all the subtleness of humanity; its highs and its lows. Caravaggio liked to shock, using provocative, dramatic and violent images - bold gestures, deliberate brutality, severed heads, streams of blood, probing wound. He challenged accepted conventions and in his painting, The Death of the Virgin, he used a prostitute (allegedly his girlfriend Lena) as model for the Madonna. The Death of the Virgin (Detail). 1606. Oil on canvas. Musee du Louvre, Paris. The painting was rejected by the church, as it was rumoured that Caravaggio’s model was ‘a dirty whore from the Ortaccio’. Many of his works offended religious sensibilities. Judith Beheading Holofernes (Detail) 1598-9. The Doubting Thomas (Detail). c1603. Potsdam. Is Carravagio’s style trying to reengage the daily lives and experiences of the poor with biblical events?

Now let look at the people in the painting : 

Now let look at the people in the painting In the age of oil-lamps and flickering candles, the painting’s dark background can easily blend into its surroundings, creating an illusion of reality.

The People : 

The People Jesus is depicted as a young beardless man with a feminine look wearing a bright red gown, different from the traditional images of Christ. Perhaps it was the changed appearance* of a resurrected Jesus that his apostles did not immediately recognise him? The Innkeeper, with a scarf on his head, is looking at Jesus, emotionless. Why did Caravaggio include him? Was he there to represent the non-believers? Or did he see Jesus as just another man? Peter (presumed) with foreshortening arms penetrating the observer’s space. Cleophas, wearing a rag, with arms supporting himself. A solemn Jesus with an unimpressed innkeeper. The innkeeper’s shadow conveniently casting a halo above Jesus. The apostles are clothed like labourers and not in robes. Cleophas’ coat has a hole at the elbow, which protrudes from the painting. He is shown pushing himself up at the moment Jesus reveals his true identity, by blessing the bread. Peter, with his crooked nose and untidy hair, throws his foreshortened arms in a gesture of utter astonishment, echoing the Crucifixion. His arm sticks out from the painting, his right hand looks ‘out of focus’ and slightly larger than his left. *Mary Magdalene did not recognise Christ resurrected.

The Table : 

The Table Caravaggio could only have copied the fruits in autumn, even though the Resurrection occurred around Easter. He was originally trained as a still-life painter and took the subject seriously, declaring that ‘it took as much skill to paint a good picture of flowers as of figures’. On the table there is bread, water and wine, a roasted chicken and a wicker basket full of over-ripe fruits, painted to the smallest detail – lesions, fungal spots and worm holes. The rotting fruits symbolizes death, decay and the transient nature of life. Pomegranate was used as a metaphor for the crown of thorns and the apples & the figs represent man’s original sin. The wilting vine leaves and grapes relate to red wine; the blood of Christ. Why is the basket teetering on the edge of the table? Some say it creates tension. Others, that it creates a 3D effect by projecting the basket into the viewer’s space. My explanation is that the table must have been accidentally shifted by the apostles. Unfortunately for me, Caravaggio did that before in a previous still life painting. What sort of light illuminates the painting? There were no electric spot lights. David Stork estimates it would take 1250 candles or 200 oil lamps to illuminate the scene. The most likely explanation is that the painting must been done is a cellar with a small window in strong sunlight. Only one of his still life painting survived, Basket of Fruit, it is in Pinocteca Ambrosiano in Milan.

Supper of Emmaus. 1601. Caravaggio. National Gallery. London. : 

Supper of Emmaus. 1601. Caravaggio. National Gallery. London.

Supper of Emmaus 1606 : 

Supper of Emmaus 1606 Supper of Emmaus. 1606. Oil. Caravaggio. Pinacoteca di Brera. Milan This work of the same event was painted by Caravaggio, whilst on the run, after he had committed murder. It was five to six years after the original and included an extra person, a maid. Far more subdued, with figures emerging into the light, a limited palette was used with no bright colours. His later paintings all shared this quality. This image of Christ was more traditional. The expressions of the subjects were more sober, their gestures restrained and less theatrical. The table is comparatively bare including bread, a bowl, a plate and a jug. The basket of fruits is gone. The subjects are older, their youthfulness disappeared. A transformation from a rich, colourful and dramatic depiction to a darker and more ‘mundane’ vision of the same event. Does this reflect the state of Caravaggio’s mind while on the run?

Supper of Emmaus. 1606. Caravaggio. Pinacoteca di Brera. Milan : 

Supper of Emmaus. 1606. Caravaggio. Pinacoteca di Brera. Milan

His Followers : 

His Followers It is almost impossible to overestimate the influence of Caravaggio. He was widely admired and an extremely influential painter of 17th century Italy. Among his followers were Orazio Gentileschi (Italian), Artemisia Gentileschi (daughter), Velazquez (Spanish), Murillo (Spanish), La Tour (French), Rubens (Belgium) and Rembrandt (Dutch). La Tour – Card Players Rembrandt – Anatomy Lecture Valazquez – Egg Fryer Is a film like Pretty Baby, in which Brooke Shields plays a 12 year old prostitute directed by Louis Malle, part of the Caravaggio tradition?

Tragedy of a Genius : 

Tragedy of a Genius Is Caravaggio’s life the Tragedy of a Genius or an Evil one inspired by a demon, as some fundamental Christians accuse him of being? Ruskin, not a fundamental Christian but a critic and social theorist, saw his art as ‘signs of an evil mind, ill repressed’ in particular highlighting ‘the perpetual seeking for and feeding upon horror and ugliness, and filthiness of sin’. Caravaggio establishes the notion of the rebellious artist, an anti-establishment figure commentating on society, challenging our preconceived ideas with a fiercely unique style. Above all, Caravaggio remains an extraordinary painter with an equally controversial life; violent by nature and a known killer. Portrait of Caravaggio (Detail) by Ottavio Leoni. Was Caravaggio a homosexual? Caravaggio painted homo-erotic images of young men although there is no evidence that he was homosexual himself. Some suggest Cardinal Francesco Del Monte, his patron, indulged in a hedonistic lifestyle. Notably, after Caravaggio left Rome, he stopped painting such images. A bungled castration attempt? According to art historians (Andrew Graham-Dixon, Maurizio Marini, Monsignor Sandro Corradini) and with documents held in Vatican and Rome State archives, Carravagio’s crime followed a dispute between Ranuccio Tomassoni and himself over Fillide Melandroni, a female prostitute, who was with both men. Using tennis as a pretext to meet, Caravaggio pinned Tomassoni to the ground in a duel. He then made a bungled attempt to castrate him. Tomassoni probably moved and Caravaggio severed his femoral artery.