The Last Supper
William Blake·1799
Historical Context
Blake's Last Supper from 1799 is part of his ambitious biblical painting series for Thomas Butts, treating the subject of Christ's final meal with his disciples — the subject that had generated some of the most celebrated paintings in the history of art, from Leonardo's masterwork to Tintoretto's and Veronese's great Venetian versions. Blake's approach to the Last Supper departed entirely from the Italian tradition's spatial illusionism and dramatic narrative, creating a flat, icon-like image that treated the sacred subject in a manner closer to Byzantine devotional imagery than to Renaissance pictorial convention. His conscious rejection of academic perspective and chiaroscuro was central to his artistic philosophy.
Technical Analysis
Blake's experimental tempera on canvas creates a distinctively flat, linear composition with bold outlines and symbolic color, deliberately rejecting Renaissance perspective in favor of a more archaic, visionary aesthetic.
Provenance
Painted for Thomas Butts [1757-1845];[1] by descent to Thomas Butts, Jr. (sale, Messrs. Foster, London, 29 June 1853, no. 87), bought by J.C. Strange, Highgate. (B.F. Stevens and Brown), London. Graham Robertson [1866-1948]; (his sale, Christie, Manson & Woods, London, 22 July 1949, No. 102), bought by the William Blake Trust, whose Trustees sold it 1951 to Lessing J. Rosenwald, Philadelphia; gift to NGA, 1954. [1] This is one of over 135 illustrations to the Bible painted for Thomas Butts, Blake's most important patron.
.jpg&width=600)
.jpg&width=600)