Supper at Emmaus

Diego Velázquez depicts the biblical moment when the risen Christ reveals himself to two disciples at supper in Emmaus. The humble setting and naturalistic treatment reflect Velázquez's early training in Seville's religious painting tradition.

Painted around 1620, this work shows Velázquez before he became court painter in Madrid. The influence of Caravaggio's dramatic lighting appears in the contrast between illuminated figures and dark background. Velázquez would become Spain's greatest Baroque painter. This early work resides at the Metropolitan Museum of Art in New York.