CHAMPAIGNE, Philippe de
(b. 1602, Bruxelles, d. 1674, Paris)

The Supper at Emmaus

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Oil on canvas, 217 x 226 cm
Museum voor Schone Kunsten, Ghent

This Supper at Emmaus has been attributed to Philippe de Champaigne, although some art historians consider it to be the work of his nephew and pupil Jean-Baptiste de Champaigne (1631-1681 or 1684). Both artists were born in Brussels and settled in Paris. The Rubensian influence in Champaigne's work is tempered by a classical purity informed by both the artistic influence of Nicolas Poussin and de Champaigne's Jansenist beliefs. The artist performed a number of commissions for the Jansenist monastery of Port Royal, near Paris, including a painting of The Supper at Emmaus, possibly the version in Ghent. Jean-Baptiste may have painted the work for his master.