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The Communion of the Apostles
Luca Giordano·1660
Historical Context
Giordano's Communion of the Apostles depicts the institution of the Eucharist at the Last Supper — specifically the moment when Christ distributed the consecrated bread and wine to his disciples, the founding act of the sacrament that would become the central ritual of Christian worship. The subject had been treated magnificently by Nicolas Poussin (Chantelou series, Edinburgh) and by Baroque painters throughout the century, each exploring different aspects of the apostles' responses to the divine reality being enacted before them. Counter-Reformation theology placed immense emphasis on the Real Presence of Christ in the Eucharist, and paintings of the Communion of the Apostles served both devotional and doctrinal purposes — asserting the sacramental claim against Protestant rejection of transubstantiation. Giordano's large-scale treatments of this subject drew on his skills as a compositional painter who could differentiate multiple figures across a horizontal table format while maintaining a unified atmosphere of solemn awe.
Technical Analysis
The apostles are arranged in attitudes of reverential reception around the central figure of Christ. The dramatic lighting focuses on the Eucharistic gesture, creating a powerful devotional image.
Look Closer
- ◆Notice the apostles arranged in attitudes of reverential reception: their varied postures of kneeling, bowing, and extending hands create visual variety within a unified devotional response.
- ◆Look at the dramatic lighting focused on the Eucharistic gesture: Giordano makes the central sacramental act the painting's luminous focal point.
- ◆Find the specific theological emphasis: this is not merely a Last Supper but a Communion of the Apostles — the first Eucharist, where Christ distributes his body as bread.
- ◆Observe that the Boston Museum of Fine Arts holds this circa 1660 early mature work — American major museum holdings of Italian Baroque painting reflect the sustained collecting that built these institutions in the late nineteenth and early twentieth centuries.
