The Last Supper

Object belonging

One's own

Category

Wood sculpture

City

Rome

Location

Museo Nazionale del Palazzo di Venezia

Specific location

Store

Inventory

PV 07588

Material and technique

Sculpted and carved wood, paint and gilding

Author

Southern German School

Dating

Mid-17th century

Dimensions

75 x 116 x 14 cm.

Origin

Tower-Wurts Collection (1933)

Image copyright

SSPSAE e per il Polo Museale della città di Roma

Short description

This work depicts the Last Supper with Christ and his Apostles, including Judas, who is seated on the opposite side to Jesus, with his back to the viewer and his face in profile; he is hiding the purse with the thirty pieces of silver and holds a knife in his right hand, dangerously aimed at Christ. The subject, given its importance in the celebration of the Eucharist, is often part of the decoration of altarpieces, or the central piece of triptychs, such as that by Michele Parth made in 1551 for the church of San Lorenzo in Sauris di Sopra in Friuli. The present work is a carved relief on five panels of tilia wood (species of wood identified by IVALSA-CNR, Florence, 2009), vertically joined together, and originally rounded at the base to form an oval shape. The corners, where the paint has not adhered well, were added later, probably so as to adapt the relief to a different setting; the date of these additions are unknown, though they are old, since radiographic analysis has shown (Laboratorio Mida, Rome) that the work was put together with nails made by hand, next to which it is possible to see others that are longer and more modern, which have been added to strengthen the work. It was restored quite recently, but reveals losses of colour, particularly in flesh areas, and structural damage (including the loss of the apostle’s hand on the far left and one of the knives on the table). The relief was not studied by Hermanin and Santangelo, but displays a certain quality in the carving and succeeds in rendering the episode with drama and emotion, using the gestures and expressions of the characters, including one who is weeping, wiping his eyes with a handkerchief. The work is consonant with artistic production in mid-17th century Germany, between southern Germany and Tyrol.

Grazia Maria Fachechi 

Bibliography

G.M. Fachechi, in Tesori invisibili dai più grandi musei italiani, exh. cat. (Rome, Museo Nazionale di Castel Sant'Angelo, 1 May - 26 July 2009), ed. L. Della Volpe, Rome 2009, p. 85.