The Last Supper

Albrecht Dürer’s The Last Supper, executed in 1510, is a masterful example of the Northern Renaissance woodcut technique. This piece belongs to Dürer’s crucial period of printmaking activity, demonstrating his revolutionary approach to graphic arts. The image is classified as a print and was widely circulated, enabling broad access to this key biblical subject.

The intimate interior setting emphasizes the tension among the thirteen men seated around a simple, rectangular table. Jesus sits prominently in the center, flanked by his disciples, captured at the dramatic moment of announcing the impending betrayal. Dürer’s precise rendering highlights the varying emotional turmoil of the apostles, while the composition carefully manages the interplay of light and shadow achieved through the complex cross-hatching inherent in the woodcut medium. The scene is grounded by mundane elements crucial to the narrative, including loaves of bread and various vessels and jugs used for serving food and drink.

This work exemplifies Dürer’s profound influence on European art during the sixteenth century, establishing a dynamic and emotionally resonant iconography for future depictions of the Last Supper. As a reproducible graphic print, the work helped cement Dürer’s status as a preeminent master who leveraged the medium to distribute complex art widely. This celebrated impression is held in the permanent collection of the Metropolitan Museum of Art, New York. As a historical masterwork, high-resolution prints and copies of this piece are frequently available in the public domain for academic and historical reference.