The Small Passion: The Last Supper

"The Small Passion: The Last Supper" by Albrecht Dürer, executed around 1509-1510, is a profound and technically masterful example of the German Renaissance woodcut tradition. This print forms a central component of Dürer’s highly influential series, the Small Passion, which chronicled the life of Christ through seventy-two images designed for wide public dissemination. The intricate detail and expressive chiaroscuro achieved in the woodcut medium demonstrate Dürer’s pioneering technical skill in leveraging the print format for both artistic complexity and mass appeal.

In this depiction of the pivotal biblical moment, Christ is situated centrally among his apostles at a round table, a compositional choice that emphasizes the immediacy and claustrophobic drama of the scene. Unlike many Italian Renaissance renderings, Dürer focuses intently on the emotional reaction of the twelve men to Christ's announcement of betrayal, conveying their confusion and despair through precise, angular line work. The density of the cross-hatching and the manipulation of positive and negative space showcase why Dürer is considered the foremost graphic artist of his generation in Germany.

As one of the most widely circulated devotional series of the early 16th century, these prints solidified Dürer's reputation across Europe. The inherent reproducibility of the woodcut process allowed for The Last Supper to reach a vast audience, becoming a vital tool for lay piety and popular education. Today, high-quality impressions of the series, such as this definitive example housed in the collection of the Cleveland Museum of Art, are recognized as masterpieces of early modern printmaking, many of which are now accessible to the public through the public domain.