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Joshua Duncan

Prof. Perschbacher

Art History II

8 April 2010

Two Suppers at Emmaus: the Young and the Old Rembrandt

Two paintings by Rembrandt of the same subject, the Supper at Emmaus, demonstrate

how the artists style evolved as he grew older. At the tender age of twenty-four, Rembrandt

completed his first depiction of the scene, demonstrating his love of high-drama and the

influence of Caravaggios school of painting on his work. The second version was painted

eighteen years later, when Rembrandt was a middle-aged man. The tones are subtler, and the

mood more calming than the melodramatic original.

The story comes from Luke 24, where the risen Christ met two of his followers on the

road to Emmaus, but they did not recognize him. When they arrived at Emmaus, Christ ate

supper with them, where he broke the bread and gave it to them. Then their eyes were opened

and they recognized him, and he disappeared from their sight.1 Rembrandt illustrates this

moment of dawning comprehension in both of his paintings.

Figure 1 Figure 2

1 Luke 24:31 NIV

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The first Supper at Emmaus (Figure 1) was painted in oil during the years 1628-1630, on

a small panel 161/8

wide and 141/2

tall.2

Christ is seated at the far right, leaning back in his seat

and looking up slightly. The intense, yellow light source is placed directly behind Christs head,

so that his profile is nearly a silhouette. Because of this, the strongest dark and light values are

centered around Christ. One of the disciples is seated in the center, and recoils in fear at the

sight, his face illuminated by Christs radiance. The second man is hidden in shadow, kneeling at

Christs feet. On the far left, a servant can be glimpsed through an arched doorway, silhouetted

by a secondary light source. A bag is nailed above the first disciples head, creating a triangle

with the nail, Christ, and the servant at the three points. This bag is nailed to a pillar which

frames the first disciple, and a plank of wood in the wall points directly to him. The wood is also

one of several diagonal lines which create a pattern and point attention back to Christ. There are

also diagonal lines in the bag and the stones at the base of the wall, and the second disciple

bowing before Christ reinforces the diagonal movement.

Rembrandts second version of the Supper at Erasmus (Figure 2) painted in 1648 is

almost twice as large as the first, 26 wide and 27 high.3 Christ is seated to the left of center

underneath a tall, shadowy arch. Once again, he is looking up, and his head is glowing, though

the light is more diffuse than it is the original. Here, the strongest light source is a window on the

far left. A disciple in dark robes on the left holds his hands together as if hes praying, while the

second leans onto his left armrest, slightly distancing himself from Christ. A servant holds a

plate between Christ and the second disciple. Gardener suggests that the two disciples have only

just begun to realize what is happening, while the servant is unaware.4

Some diagonal lines are

2Gardners Art Through the Ages: Seventh Edition, 6653 Ibid4 Ibid

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As a young artist, Rembrandt was inspired by Rubens and by the Dutch Caravaggesque

painters like Honthorst.6

One only need examine Honthorsts body of work to see his influence

on the first Supper at Emmaus. First and foremost, Honthorst loved strong chiaroscuro, and often

used warm yellows and rich browns in early paintings such as Samson and Delilah (Figure 3) in

1615.7

Rembrandt could have been familiar with these paintings in his early youth, and he used

similar colors throughout his career.

During the years Rembrandt painted the first Supper at Emmaus, Gerrit Dou and Isaac

Jouderville worked alongside him in his studio.8

His contemporaries work also suggests that

Honthorst influenced many artists at that time. One painting by Gerrit Dou, The Extraction of a

Tooth (Figure 4) begun around 1630 emulates Honthorsts style and depicts a dentist, a subject

Honthorst loved.9

Issac Jouderville painted at least one image, Young Woman with a Candle

(Figure 5), in which the only light source is hidden behind a book.10

Honthorst used this

technique regularly, and the painters of Rembrandts generation would have been familiar with

it.

Honthorst would create a dynamic center of interest by placing a hand or other object in

front of the candle illuminating the scene, putting the darkest shadow directly in front of the

brightest light. He did this in The Supper Party in 1620, in two paintings ofThe Prodigal Son in

1622 and 1623, in The Dentistin 1622, and elsewhere throughout his career.11

Rembrandt also

used this device on more than one occasion, including The Parable of the Rich Man in 1627.12 In

6Gardners Art Through the Ages: Seventh Edition, 6657Gerrit Van Honthorst: The Complete Works

8R e m b r a n d t v a n R i j n : B i o g r a p h y a n d C h r o n o l o g y

9Web Gallery of Art10Bridgeman: Art on Demand11Web Gallery of Art12Olgas Gallery

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the first Supper at Emmaus, Rembrandt had the innovation to make Jesus head the object

obstructing the light source, making Christ the primary center of interest.

Figure 6 Figure 7 Figure 8

In addition to the strong contrast of light, a sense of high drama is created by the poses of

the two disciples in the first Supper at Emmaus, which Gardener describes as a studied stage

maneuver.13

Many of the poses in Rembrandts paintings before 1630 are dramatic and

reminiscent of the theater, such as The Martyrdom of St. Stephan in 1625 and The Prophet

Balaam and the Ass (Figure 6) in1626. The poses of the disciples in Caravaggios version ofThe

Supper at Emmaus (Figure 7) in 1601 share this wild energy and may have been studied by

Rembrandt before he painted his own version.14

One disciple spreads his arms wide, while the

other appears to have jerked forward in surprise, gripping the arms of his chair.

Rubens also heavily influenced Rembrandts generation of artists. Gardner credits

Rubens as an artist of international influence and a key figure of the Baroque movement.15

The

dramatic poses of Rembrants figures in the first Supper at Emmaus harken back to Rubens

intense figures. For example, Gardner describes RubensElevation of the Cross (Figure 8)

painted in 1610 as a focus of tremendous, straining forces and counterforces, as heavily

13Gardners Art Through the Ages: Seventh Edition, 66514Olgas Gallery15Gardners Art Through the Ages: Seventh Edition, 656

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muscled giants strain to lift the crossThe whole composition seethes with a power that we feel

comes from genuine exertion.16

Many of Rubens compositions used multiple figures to create

diagonal movement, and Rembrandt also employed diagonal lines in his Supper at Emmaus. In

1630, Rembrandts father died, and the artist spent a year focusing more on his etching than his

painting.17

In 1631, he would begin his move to Amsterdam, so Supper at Emmaus was likely

completed before 1630.

By the time Rembrandt painted the second Supper at Emmaus in 1648, his first wife had

died, and he was in the midst of a legal dispute with his former mistress, Geertge Dircx.

Hendrickje became his new lover, but within a few years, Rembrandts mounting debt would

come crashing down on him.18

In the midst of this personal struggle, Rembrandts work was

starting to look very different from his early paintings. When Gardner discusses the change in

Rembrandts style, it is compared with Velzquezs development:

the artists use of light is one of the hallmarks of his style. Rembrandtspictorial method involved refining light and shade into finer and finer nuances

until they blended with one another. Earlier painters use of abrupt lights anddarks gave way to gradation in the work of artists such as Rembrandt and

Velzquez.19

Figure 9 Figure 10 Figure 11

16Gardners Art Through the Ages: Seventh Edition, 65717The Complete Etchings of Rembrandt, 8-918 Ibid19Gardners Art through the Ages, Thirteenth Edition, 684-685

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Indeed, Velzquezs style in both his early and late career mirrors Rembrandts. For

example, Velzquezs early workAdoration of the Magi (Figure 9) in 1619 employs strong

chiaroscuro. During the same years Rembrandt painted the second Supper at Emmaus,

Velzquez worked onArachne (Figure 10) from 1644-1648 andJuan de Pareja (Figure 11) in

1650.20

These later works use such gentle tones, they seem to have been painted by a different

artist.

Figure 12

Rembrandts softening of values is not the only change which makes the second Supper

at Emmaus far calmer than the original. The more muted color scheme is also more serene.

Rembrandt may well have been influenced by older Rennaisance artists such as Giorgione da

Castelfanco. An instructor of Titian, Giorgione painted calm, country-settings, such asPastoral

Symphony (Figure 12) in 1508, which employs soft light and shadow, muted color, and relaxed

figures.

Each of the disciples in Rembrandts first Supper at Emmaus has a direct counterpart in

the second, suggesting that Rembrandt took the first into consideration as he designed his new

20Web Gallery of Art

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version. In each, one disciple responds to Christ by leaning away in surprise, while the other

responds by worship Christ. The body language and facial expressions of the figures in each

version affects the mood of the whole piece. In the first, the only face which can be clearly made

out is one of the disciples, with eyes wide and mouth agape, his shoulders hunched. His

counterpart in the second version appears only mildly surprised. Also, compare the facial

expression of the disciple in the first version with Christs in the second: Christs eyebrows are

raised slightly, but his eyelids are lowered. He tilts his head slightly, and it feels as though he is

exhaling, just before he fades away. Gardner believes Rembrandt is portraying the humanity

and the humility of Jesus.

21

In the early Supper at Emmaus, a disciple worships Christ by

bowing at his feet, but he seems just as afraid as his friend. This disciples counterpart in the late

version of the painting simply holds his hands in prayer, and he has not turned his face away

from Christ. There is no hint of terror or dread in the second version.

(Figure 13) (Figure 14)

21Gardners Art Through the Ages: Seventh Edition, 665

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If the two depictions of the Supper at Emmaus are not enough to demonstrate

Rembrandts dramatic development of his style, one need only look at his other work during the

different time periods. Even the artists drawings and etchings reveal that in his twenties, he was

interested in strong chiaroscuro and dramatic facial expressions and poses. A whole series of

self-portraits which he etched between 1628 and 1631 use sharp divisions between shadow and

light.22

In his twenties, Rembrandt etched Self portrait, frowning: bust(Figure 13) capturing an

intense scowl.23

Eighteen years later, in 1648, he completed his final etched self-portrait (Figure

14), and his calm face seems to glow because of the full range of tones he was able to etch into

the copper.

24

(Figure 15) (Figure 16)

There was even another Biblical scene Rembrandt painted in his twenties which he

revisited nineteen years later. He depicted a story from the apocrypha, Tobit and Anna (Figure

15) in 1626, giving his figures exaggerated facial expressions that border on comical. In 1645,

22The Complete Etchings of Rembrandt, 21-3023 Ibid, high-res image from Picasa Web Albums24 Ibid, high-res image fromRembrandt Van Rijn: life, paintings, etchings, dra wings

& self portraits

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his growth is evident in Tobits Wife with the Goat(Figure 16), with its rich atmosphere, its

interesting, somber colors, and its figures dark expressions. This same mood is employed in the

second version ofSupper at Emmaus.

Rembrandts first Supper at Emmaus is not inferior to his later work, but it certainly has a

distinct aesthetic quality. The composition is dynamic and exciting to examine. The silhouette of

Christ is hauntingly beautiful, and all the figures brim with tension. However, Rembrandts later

work sets him apart from his predecessors like Honthorst. By showing more of the subtle

variations between the darkest shadows and the brightest highlights, his later paintings and

etchings gain more three-dimensional depth. As Rembrandt was nearing the end of his life, the

next Dutch master, Vermeer, was completing some of his most enduring works such as Young

Woman with a Water Jug(Figure 17) in 1665 and Girl with a Pearl Earring(Figure 18) in

1666.25

These works carry on the tradition of subtler, more naturalistic painting, as opposed to

the grand, masculine energy that characterized the Baroque period. It was Rembrandts later

style, embodied in works like the second Supper at Emmaus, that had the greatest influence on

the next generation of artists.

(Figure 17) (Figure 18)

25Web Gallery of Art

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Bibliography

Gardeners Art Through the Ages: Seventh Edition. Ed. de la Croix, Horst and Richard G.

Tansey. New York: Harcourt Brace Jovanovich, 1980.

Gardeners Art Through the Ages: A Global History: Thirteenth Edition. Ed. Kleiner, Fred S.

United States: Thomson Wadsworth, 2009.

Gerrit Van Honthorst: The Complete Works. 5 April 2010 .

Olgas Gallery. 5 April 2010 .

Picasa Web Albums. 5 April 2010 .

Web Gallery of Art. 5 April 2010 .

Rembrandt van Rijn: Biography and Chronology.Rembrandt Van R ijn: life, paintings,

etchings, drawings & self portraits. 4 April 2010

.

The Complete Etchings of Rembrandt. Ed. Schwartz, Gary. New York: Dover, 1994.

The Holy Bible: New International Version. 5 April 2010 .

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