The Cleveland Museum of Art

Collection Online as of December 13, 2025

The Last Supper

1523

Albrecht Dürer

(German, 1471–1528)
Germany
woodcut
Sheet: 21.6 x 30 cm (8 1/2 x 11 13/16 in.)
Norman O. Stone and Ella A. Stone Memorial Fund 1966.9
Catalogue raisonné: Meder 184
Location: 101B Prints & Drawings

Did You Know?

One-point perspective is a technique that artists use to render three dimensional space using a series of invisible lines converging on a vanishing point. Here, as in most last supper scenes, the vanishing point is located on the figure of Christ.

Description

Albrecht Dürer made this version of the Last Supper after returning from Venice. He adopted the typically Italian horizontal format, long table, and disciples seated on the far side. The table has been cleared, except for a single chalice, which, along with the empty platter, basket of bread, and wine decanter in the foreground, refers to the Christ’s body and blood in the sacrament of the Eucharist. Significantly, Judas—the disciple who would betray Christ—is not present. Some art historians interpret the scene as the moment Christ exhorts his disciples to love one another (John 13:34), a passage emphasized by the Protestant leader Martin Luther, whose Ninety-Five Theses was championed by those sympathetic to Catholic reform.
  • ?–1966
    (Charles D. Childs Gallery, Boston, MA, sold to the Cleveland Museum of Art, Cleveland, OH)
    January 3, 1966–
    The Cleveland Museum of Art, Cleveland, OH
  • In Vino Veritas (In Wine, Truth). The Cleveland Museum of Art, Cleveland, OH (organizer) (September 7, 2025-January 11, 2026).
    Albrecht Dürer: The Age of Reformation and Renaissance. The Cincinnati Art Museum, Cincinnati, OH (organizer) (November 17, 2017-February 11, 2018).
    Albrecht Dürer and His Influence. The Cleveland Museum of Art, Cleveland, OH (organizer) (January 16-March 10, 1991).
    Durer. Allen Memorial Art Museum, Oberlin, OH (organizer) (April 6-May 8, 1971).
    Albrecht Dürer - 500th Anniversary. The Cleveland Museum of Art, Cleveland, OH (organizer) (February 19-March 28, 1971).
  • {{cite web|title=The Last Supper|url=false|author=Albrecht Dürer|year=1523|access-date=13 December 2025|publisher=Cleveland Museum of Art}}

Source URL:

https://www.clevelandart.org/art/1966.9