Baroque blog- Xavier JL

Baroque era

Supper at Emmaus - Caravaggio - 1601

National Gallery, London


"Supper at Emmaus" is a famous painting created by the Italian Baroque artist Caravaggio in 1601. The painting depicts a biblical scene, where two disciples of Jesus encounter him after his resurrection. This piece is known for its dramatic lighting and intense realism. The light source falls directly on Jesus' face and hand, emphasizing his presence and drawing attention to him. The faces of the disciples display a range of emotions, including surprise and curiosity. I enjoy this piece from the Baroque era. The scene displayed is very vivid and the shades and colors add a dramatic effect to it. You can feel the emotions and the conflict going on in this discussion and I think that this piece represents the Baroque painting movement. I wouldn't personally own a copy of it but I think this piece should definitely be displayed in a museum because it has a lot to cover and it represents well its area of painting.


The Baroque era saw the emergence of significant advancements in scientific knowledge and discoveries. With that being said, paintings started to be more realistic and vivid which can be linked to the expansion of scientific knowledge. At that time, artists, including Caravaggio, employed techniques that added the detailed study of light and shadow, which had parallels with scientific observations and an understanding of optics. This led to great development and improvement in the realism of the art movement.


Learnodo Newtonic. "Famous Baroque Paintings." Learnodo-Newtonic.com, Learnodo Newtonic, n.d., https://learnodo-newtonic.com/famous-baroque-paintings. (accessed-06-24-2023)



Bromont en Art. "Mouvement Artistique Baroque." bromontenart.ca, Bromont en Art, https://bromontenart.ca/mouvement-artistique-baroque/ (accessed-06-24-2023)




Comments

  1. I like how the artist was able to create the shadows of the people that are sitting at the table. The different lighting that was used in the painting. The colors that are used. I wonder what they are talking about. It looks as they have not touched the food yet. They are deep into whatever they are talking about. I like the painting, but I would not own a copy, it has no significance to me.

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  2. I was unfamiliar with this particular depiction of Christ. I wasn't even sure what I was looking at until I read your post. I thought perhaps it was a lively discussion between siblings, the bothers trying to convince the sister of her duties or some such.

    After I realized what I was looking at it became a much different painting. The incredulity and excitement, and curiosity you mentioned are very clear in the very realistic facial and body expressions of the subjects. The shadows cast by a central light source ad even more realism and contrast in the tones. The food on the table practically leap out of the screen, I would love to see this in person.

    It's a helluvan example of Baroque art; the dynamic actions of the people captured in a freeze frame like a photograph, the food that right now in the moment depicted is fine, fine table fare but that will spoil with the passage of time. The hyper realism of Jesus' face as he calmly addresses his disciples, the lines on their foreheads belying their feelings in response to Christ's resurrection. I wonder how the Church felt about this at the time. Such a realistic painting, but bearing the faith of all the prior...non realistic paintings of "icons." A copy of this may soon grace my shop.

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  3. This is a very interesting standout among depictions of Jesus to me. Jesus is generally depicted as being very slight, which often makes sense given the context of the Gospels. This Jesus however almost appears chubby, to the point that he almost isn't even recognizable as Jesus. After some light research I found that this unrecognizability may have been intended. This is because after the resurrection Jesus appeared to some of his disciples as unrecognizable at first.
    This analysis has some more info about his disciples not recognizing him: https://www.bbc.com/culture/article/20210617-the-supper-at-emmaus-a-coded-symbol-hidden-in-a-masterpiece

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  4. I was very impressed with this painting after reading what you wrote. I would have never guess this is depicting Jesus. I am liking the shadow that the artist drew into this painting. The artist put deep thought into this painting because he has the men talking and not touching any of the food or drinks. The artist also made sure to put one of the men into a deep serious conversation with Jesus.

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