The Cleveland Museum of Art

Collection Online as of December 2, 2023

The Supper at Emmaus

c. 1720

Giovanni Battista Piazzetta

(Italian, 1682–1754)

Italy, 18th century

Oil on canvas

Framed: 133.4 x 167 x 9.5 cm (52 1/2 x 65 3/4 x 3 3/4 in.); Unframed: 108 x 140.6 cm (42 1/2 x 55 3/8 in.)

Purchase from the J. H. Wade Fund 1931.245

Location

not on view

Description

This painting depicts the biblical story of the Supper at Emmaus, when the disguised, resurrected Christ suddenly reveals himself to two astonished disciples as they all sit down to dinner. The artist has painted the figures’ hands and the objects on the table meticulously, but leaves other details vague, including the background drapery, in order to heighten the unfolding drama.

Inscriptions

Inscription

Signed lower left: "Piaceta f."

Provenance
Giovanni Paolo Baglioni, San Cassiano, Venice, 1787
the family of Castiglioni, San Cassiano, Venice
Count Castiglioni (Padua, Italy)
Italico Brass (Venice, Italy), sold to the Cleveland Museum of Art, 1931.
Citations
Paintings in the Cleveland Museum of Art. [Cleveland]: The Cleveland Museum of Art, 1945. Reproduced: p. 54 archive.org
The Cleveland Museum of Art. The Cleveland Museum of Art Handbook. Cleveland, OH: The Cleveland Museum of Art, 1958. Mentioned and Reproduced: cat. no. 424 archive.org
The Cleveland Museum of Art. Handbook of the Cleveland Museum of Art/1966. Cleveland, OH: The Cleveland Museum of Art, 1966. Reproduced: p. 143 archive.org
The Cleveland Museum of Art. Handbook of the Cleveland Museum of Art/1969. Cleveland, OH: The Cleveland Museum of Art, 1969. Reproduced: p. 143 archive.org
The Cleveland Museum of Art. Handbook of the Cleveland Museum of Art/1978. Cleveland, OH: The Cleveland Museum of Art, 1978. Reproduced: p. 142 archive.org
The Cleveland Museum of Art. The Cleveland Museum of Art Catalogue of Paintings, Part 3: European Paintings of the 16th, 17th, and 18th Centuries. Cleveland, OH: The Cleveland Museum of Art, 1982. Mentioned: p. 387-389; Reproduced: p. 388
"1992 Annual Report." The Bulletin of the Cleveland Museum of Art 80, no. 6 (1993): 215-95. Mentioned: p. 238 www.jstor.org
Exhibition history

Florence, Pitti Palace, 1922: "mostra della pittura italiana del seicento e settecento," cat. no. 750 (catalogue by Roberto Longhi, et. al.).

New ork, Durlacher Brothers, November 19-December 8, 1934: "An Exhibition of Venetian Painting 1600-1800," cat. no. 14.

CMA, 1936: "The Twentieth Anniversary Exhibition," cat. no. 162, plate XXXVIII.

San Francisco, May 25-September 9, 1940: "Golden Gate International Exposition," cat. no. 163, repr.

Northampton, mas., Smith College Museum of Art, February 6-February 26, 1947: "Italian Baroque Painting," cat. no. 27.

Worcester (Mass.) Art Museum, April 9-May 16, 1948: "Fiftieth Anniversary Exhibition of the Art of Europe during the XVI-XVII Centuries," cat. no. 22.

CMA, 1956: "The Venetian Tradition," cat. no. 29.

Balitmore Museum of Art, 1968: "From El Greco to Pollock," cat. no. 38, repr.

Venice, Doge's Palace, June 7-October 15, 1969: "Dal Ricci al Tiepolo, i pittori di figura del settecento a Venezia," cat. no. 58, illus. pp. 138-39, (catalogue by Pietro Zampetti).

The Art Institute of Chicago, September 19, 1970-March 21, 1971: "Painting in Italy in the 18th Century,"

The Twentieth Anniversary Exhibition: The Official Art Exhibit of the Great Lakes Exposition. The Cleveland Museum of Art, Cleveland, OH (organizer) (June 26-October 4, 1936).

The Venetian Tradition. The Cleveland Museum of Art, Cleveland, OH (November 8, 1956-January 1, 1957).

Painting in Italy in the Eighteenth Century, Rococo to Romanticism. The Art Institute of Chicago, Chicago, IL (organizer) (September 19-November 8, 1970); Minneapolis Institute of Art, Minneapolis, MN (December 2, 1970-January 9, 1971); The Toledo Museum of Art, Toledo, OH (February 7-March 21, 1971).

The Glory of Venice: Art in the 18th Century. Royal Academy of Arts, London, United Kingdom of Great Britain and Northern Ireland (organizer) (September 15-December 14, 1994); National Gallery of Art, Landover, MD (January 29-April 23, 1995); Museo di Ca' Rezzonico, Venezia VE, Italy (May 25-September 30, 1995).

Source URL: https://www.clevelandart.org/art/1931.245