Depictions of the “Last Supper” have often been a crucial candidate for any successful artist’s portfolio and have been a staple of the iconography of the church since the catacombs of the early Christians. Artists have chosen different scenes from the story recorded in the Christian Gospels for different reasons, but for German and Northern European artists in the 1500s, the ways in which the last meal of Christ and his disciples were depicted would become more political in concept. Many German artists admired Martin Luther’s activism for the Protestant church in the early 16th century which brought up theological questions of iconoclasm, and questions concerning the Eucharist including whether or not a sacrificial (paschal) lamb should be included, and whether or not the laity should take part in drinking the wine. A few artists, such as Albrecht Dürer and Lucas Cranach the Elder sought to further conversation about his ideas through portraits of him and depictions of his reforms, and they inspired many other Northern European artists to do the same. This exhibit will examine the similarities and differences between the depictions of the Last Supper story as told by Northern European artists over a 100 year period, both before and after Luther’s attempts to reform the church. More specifically we will compare the scenes chosen by the artists and the presence or absence of the paschal lamb- a part of the Catholic Eucharist that Luther was adamantly against.
Albrecht Dürer
“The Last Supper, from The Large Passion
1510
Woodcut
22.51.3
Dürer’s first “Last Supper” woodcut was finished before Luther began his ministry and features all 12 disciples and a server gathered around Christ with all elements of the Eucharist depicted, including the paschal lamb. Christ is seen with a halo, embracing John, and the disciples are crowded into a narrow room with a high, vaulted ceiling. Because all 12 disciples are depicted and because of the frustration and concern that they are demonstrating, we can assume that Dürer is depicting Christ’s announcement of his coming betrayal: a popular pre-Reformation scene for Last Supper works.
Albrecht Dürer
“The Last Supper”
1523
Woodcut
22.111.1
Dürer’s later Last Supper woodcut has often been interpreted to represent the image of John 13:34 where Christ commands his disciples to love one another. Only 11 disciples are represented and Judas has presumably already left to betray Christ. The men are now seated in a wider room with three large windows and a surprisingly empty table. Dürer now chooses to exclude the paschal lamb from his piece in order to support the views of Luther. The only object remaining on the table is a single goblet of wine that can be interpreted as a commentary on Luther’s desire for the laity to be included in the taking of communion.
Sebald Beham
“The Last Supper” from the Passion Series
1521
Woodcut
1278.1136-3
Beham was a member of the “Little Masters” group and his style and subjects followed very closely to Dürer’s. His Last Supper piece demonstrates his Lutheran views in the same way the Dürer’s later piece does. He does not include the paschal lamb and there only 11 disciples depicted. The disciples are gathered around Christ seated at a small table in a hall with high vaulted ceilings. Jesus seems to be instructing his disciples, presumably enacting John 13:34.
Lucas Cranach the Elder
“The Last Supper” Panel from Wittenberg Altarpiece
1547
Oil Painting
in situ, Stadtkirche Wittenberg
Cranach the Elder famously worked very closely with Luther and many of his supporters, and in this piece, he even includes Luther as one of the figures sitting with the disciples, receiving the wine of communion. The disciples are seated at a round table in a courtyard with John on Christ’s lap and Judas on his right hand. Even though Cranach chose to show Judas as a part of the scene, he makes sure his viewers know who he is by giving him red hair and a yellow cloak. What is interesting about Cranach’s choices in this piece is that he shows the lamb on the table, which disagrees with Luther’s views, but at the same time, he shows support for Luther’s views by including him in the midst of the disciples as a representation of the common laity’s ability to receive communion.
Designed by Bernard van Orley
Probably woven by Pieter de Pannemaker
“The Last Supper”
ca. 1525–28
Wool, silk, silver-gilt thread.
1975.1.1915
Like many Last Suppers, this tapestry is a part of a series of the Passion of Christ. The piece depicts Christ’s announcement of his betrayal and shows Judas about to leave while the other disciples react to the news. The masterful weaving is incredibly ornament and the decorations and architecture shown are contemporary to the artist’s time, not to Christ’s. Van Orley demonstrates a Protestant position by placing the wine pitcher on top of the platter where the paschal lamb would have been held. Compositionally, the piece mimics Dürer’s 1510 woodcut, and conceptually, it follows Dürer’s 1523 piece.
Tilman Riemenschneider
“The Altar of the Holy Blood”
1501-1505
Limewood carving
in situ, St. James’s Church, Rothenberg ob der Tauber
Riemenshneider’s depiction of the Last Supper is very different from the other pieces in this collection, because instead of placing Christ in the center of the piece and either shaming Judas, like Cranach or excluding him, like Dürer (1523), he chooses to place Judas in the middle and exclude Christ altogether from the piece. This altarpiece contains a relatively popular relic and invited many pilgrims, so Riemenschneider chose to use Judas as a symbol for God’s grace and our need for repentance. The disciples are tightly packed into this flat panel, and while the traditional elements of the Eucharist are missing, there is an intricacy and ornateness surrounding the figures that is distinctly Catholic. Although this piece was finished before the Reformation, it sends an interesting message about grace in contrast to the growing corruption in the Catholic church regarding the sale of indulgences that would soon lead Luther to post his 99 theses.
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