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The Last Supper

Print
1510 (made)
Artist/Maker
Dürer, Albrecht (artist)
Place of origin
Nuremberg (made)

This print is one of a set of 12 woodcuts that tell the story of the Crucifixion and Passion of Christ. The German painter and printmaker Albrecht Dürer transformed the narrative and expressive potential of printmaking. His 'Large Passion' series is a vivid and animated rendering of the gospel story.

In this scene Christ’s disciples react to his pronouncement, ‘One of you will betray me – one who is eating with me’. Judas (in the right foreground) turns his face away and clutches a purse containing the thirty silver coins he has been paid to hand Christ over to his enemies. The knife on his plate points ominously towards Christ.

Object details

Categories
Prints
Religion
Object type
Print
Titles
  • The Last Supper (generic title)
  • The Large Passion (series title)
Materials and techniques
Woodcut on paper
Paper
Woodcut
Brief description
Albrecht Dürer (1471-1528); 'The Last Supper' from the 'Large Passion' series; 1510; woodcut
Physical description
Black and white woodcut. Christ is shown seated at the centre of the table surrounded by the 12 diciples. Judas sits with his back to the viewer and the inn keeper pours out a drink on the left.
Dimensions
  • Height: 39.8cm
  • Width: 28.6cm
Gallery label
(August 2019)
Dürer played a leading role in raising woodcut’s status as a black and white artform. He designed ambitious series of full-page images featuring astonishing modelling and chiaroscuro – contrasts of light and dark – which his block cutter achieved through parallel and hatched lines. Dürer, who as an apprentice saw woodcuts being made for the Nuremberg Chronicle (see case), may have supervised the complex cutting himself.
Credit line
Bequeathed by Miss G. E. Carthew
Subjects depicted
Christianity
Betrayal
Jesus Christ
Judas (Iscariot)
The Apostles
The Last Supper
Summary
This print is one of a set of 12 woodcuts that tell the story of the Crucifixion and Passion of Christ. The German painter and printmaker Albrecht Dürer transformed the narrative and expressive potential of printmaking. His 'Large Passion' series is a vivid and animated rendering of the gospel story.

In this scene Christ’s disciples react to his pronouncement, ‘One of you will betray me – one who is eating with me’. Judas (in the right foreground) turns his face away and clutches a purse containing the thirty silver coins he has been paid to hand Christ over to his enemies. The knife on his plate points ominously towards Christ.
Associated objects
Collection
Prints, Drawings & Paintings Collection
Accession number
E.703-1940

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Record createdJune 15, 2005
Record URL
https://collections.vam.ac.uk/item/O113212/the-last-supper-print-dürer-albrecht/
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