The Last Supper

Lanfranco's Last Supper of 1624, held at the National Gallery of Ireland, was painted during the artist's most celebrated Roman decade. The subject was one of the most demanding in Christian iconography, requiring the painter to organize thirteen figures around a table while conveying the moment of Christ's announcement of betrayal. Lanfranco's version reflects the theatrical Baroque reinterpretation of this subject that had been energized by Caravaggio's innovations, while maintaining the more classical figural dignity that Lanfranco inherited from the Carracci tradition. The 1624 date places it in the same period as several of his other major commissions, suggesting extraordinary productivity.

The table arrangement allows Lanfranco to organize figures in a broad frieze with depth suggested by overlapping and foreshortening. Warm candlelight or lamplight typically dominates such nocturnal scenes, producing strong chiaroscuro contrasts that focus attention on Christ's face and gesture.