The Supper at Emmaus Miniature
Artist/Maker
DatesMade: Made second quarter of 16th century
Material / Technique
Dimensionsh x w x d: Ram 29 x 23 x 4 cm
Inventory numberNMB 120
Other titlesTitle (sv): Kristus till bords med fyra lärjungar Title (en): The Supper at Emmaus Miniature Previous: Kristus i Emaus
DescriptionDescription: NMB 120 A miniature of the Supper at Emmaus from an unknown manuscript. [Northern Italy (Venice?), 16th century (second quarter)] Catalogue raisonné: NMB 120 A miniature of the Supper at Emmaus from an unknown manuscript. [Northern Italy (Venice?), 16th century (second quarter)] Physical Description MATERIAL: Watercolour on Parchment. DIMENSIONS: 180 × 120 mm. NUMBER OF LEAVES: 1. FOLIATION: Unknown. RULING: None visible. LANGUAGE: No language visible. SCRIPT: No script visible. RUBRICATION: No rubrics visible. Text No text visible. Sister leaves Unknown Decoration The scene depicted in NMB 120 is a representation of the miracle at the Supper at Emmaus. In this story that appears in Luke 24.13-35, Christ appears to two disciples, one named Cleopas, and the other unnamed, on the road to the village of Emmaus. Jesus walks with the disciples and has supper with them in Emmaus where he reveals his resurrected nature to them. The depiction shows Christ, with four disciples, sitting around a table. Christ wears white and blue and gestures with his right hand towards a loaf of bread on the table. A bearded man to Christ’s right wearing red and sporting a long beard raises his hands in the air. Next to him is a man wearing orange and red and sports a white cap. He rests his head in his left hand and looks at the table. Two Christ’s left are two men wearing blue and red. One man, next to Christ, with curly hair and a beard looks to the man next to him on his left. The other man, with his back to us, has his arms around the bearded man and looks to him. Christ and his disciples sit in a room with pillars and two large arched windows. The windows open to a pastoral scene with fields, trees, and clouds in a blue sky, while in the distance is a walled city. Provenance Parent volume Unknown Present leaf 1. Entry in Italian declaring this to be the work of Bellini. 2. At the bottom is an entry in French that gives a small potted account of the life of Bellini, stating that he is born in 1422. 3. In the estate of Johan Tobias Sergel (1740-1814). 4. Entry describing that this was sold from the estate of Sergel in 1875 for 100 Swedish kroner. 5. Purchased by the Nationalmuseum in 1875. Exhibited 1. Copenhagen, National Museum, Gyldne Böger, April-May 1952. 2. Stockholm, Nationalmuseum, Gyllenne böcker, May-September 1952. Commentary Nordenfalk (1979) noted that there are two more table guests in the scene of NMB 120, than appears in the Bible text concerning the miracle at the Supper at Emmaus. He explained this interesting depiction first appeared in the work of Giovanni Bellini (c.1426-1516), to whom the NMB 120 miniature was incorrectly attributed from the time of Sergel onwards. Nordenfalk further notes that after his visit in Venice, Albrecht Dürer (1471-1528) took up the motif of two more table guests and henceforth it became a recurring feature in Venetian painting. Nordenfalk (1979) believed that the style of Bellini’s art is recalled in the postures of the seated figures, the marble architecture in the background, and the views of the landscape. However, Nordenfalk believed that the entire style of the painting is older and is nearest to the Lombardic miniatures of the followers of Antonio da Monza (fl. 1480-1505). Nordenfalk (1952) earlier stated that the miniature artist is more likely to be found around the contemporaries of Giulio Clovio (1498-1578). Nordenfalk further noted a relation to a miniature in the Free Library in Philadelphia, Lewis E M 47:10. Bibliography Nordenfalk, Carl, Bokmålningar från medeltid och renässans i Nationalmusei samlingar (Stockholm: Rabén & Sjögren, 1979), no. 40, p. 141. Research project 2022-2023, Illuminated Manuscript, Christian Etheridge, Art Historian.
Collection
Geographical origin