CARAVAGGIO
(b. 1571, Caravaggio, d. 1610, Porto Ercole)

Supper at Emmaus (detail)

1601-02
Oil on canvas
National Gallery, London

Christ, supported by the lines of the table-cloth, occupies the pictorial center in a pyramid shape. If the disciples of Jesus had walked quite a long way with the resurrected Lord, and only later recognized him by one gesture, then the figure who appeared at Emmaus cannot have looked like Christ. For this reason, the artist does not present the usual image of the Redeemer, but a youthfully plump face without beard.