A Painting by Matthias Stomer, in Caravaggio’s Wake

Matthias Stomer was one of the most important Dutch painters active in Italy in the first half of the 17th century. The Supper at Emmaus bears witness to his loyalty to Caravaggio’s naturalism.

Matthias Stomer’s The Supper at Emmaus stands out for its monumentality and exceptional pictorial quality, revealing all his artistic skill. Theatrical gestures and expressive faces with finely worked skin make this biblical episode, in which the moment of surprise is central, a very lively representation. The Supper at Emmaus was one of the key themes of the Catholic Counter-Reformation. Stomer sticks to the text of the Gospel of Saint Luke: two disciples offer hospitality to a man on the road to Emmaus, near Jerusalem. During the meal, they realize that this person is in fact Christ Ressurrected. As he blesses the bread, the disciple, with the back to the viewer, from rises from his chair, a motif inspired by Caravaggio‘s The Supper at Emmaus, commissioned by Ciriaco Mattei in 1601 and now in London’s National Gallery. It casts a strong shadow over a table teeming with objects, in a form of naturalism much appreciated at the time. A favorite of Caravaggio and his followers, the theme lends itself to the use of chiaroscuro and an extremely realistic depiction of the saints, a Caravaggesque choice that deeply impressed painters in the Netherlands who, until that point, adhered to the more austere pictorial tradition of Rubens. It was long thought to have been painted in Rome around 1620-1632 or in Naples around 1633-1639. But more recent research suggests that it dates from Stomer’s Sicilian period. Active on the island between 1640 and 1643, the painter benefited from a generous patronage that made this period the most illustrious of his entire career. The monumental works created during this period are characterized by dramatic compositions, unreal light and a broad palette of colors, enhanced by rich impastos on highly detailed hands and faces.

Gravures anciennes, tableaux et dessins de maîtres anciens, tableaux du XIXe siècle

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