SUPPER AT EMMAUS

According to the Gospel of St. Luke, after the death of Christ, two of his disciples traveling down the road to Emmaus met a stranger and invited him to join them.  At supper the stranger blessed the bread and broke it to give to the disciples.  Immediately the disciples saw the stranger was Christ risen from the dead.  

This painting dramatically captures the moment when the disciples realize the stranger is Christ himself. Caravaggio painted this masterpiece in 1601 for a Roman nobleman and avid art collector.  The painting contains all the stylistic elements that Caravaggio is noted for: the realistic figures and the dramatic changes of light and dark.

This painting is part of the London's National Gallery of Art permanent collection but in late 2009, the National Gallery lent the painting to the Art Institute of Chicago for three months in return for borrowing a painting by Francisco de Zurbará which would play a key part in an exhibition.

CHRIST SHOWN TO THE PEOPLE (ECCE HOMO)

By the glow of blazing torchlight Pontius Pilate presents Christ to the unseen crowd that will decide his fate.  Pilate's extravagent, fur-lined coat and the page's opulent jewelry contrast with the nearly naked Christ.  Christ's simple yet eloquent expression contrasts with the ample jowls and corpulent cheeks of his judge, and the richly detailed costumes of the page and Pilate make Christ's partial nudity even more touching.

Having painted the subject of Christ shown to the people several times before, Tiziano Vecellio, born between 1488 and 1490 near Venice, and known to the art world as Titian, returned to the theme at the very end of his career, working on this painting from 1570 up until his death in 1576.  The painting looks unfinished due to the sketchiness of the flickering torch at the upper left corner.  Titian was one of the most sought-after painters of his day, by both popes and secular rulers.  For nearly sixty years he would be the most important member of the 16th century Venetian school of painters.  His powerful brushstrokes, subdued palette and emotional subjects were typical of his late style.

This painting is part of the fantastic, permanent collection of the St. Louis Art Museum.

VIRGIN AND CHILD WITH AN ANGEL

This painting hangs in the Art Institute of Chicago and was painted by Alessandro di Mariano di Vanni Filipepi, otherwise known as Botticelli, sometime between 1475 and 1485.  This is one of several works Botticelli painted showing the Virgin Mary tenderly embracing the Christ child.

Although he began his career much later in life than most other Renaissance painters, he is considered one of the greatest Italian Renaissance painters.  In 1481, he was one of the artists Pope Sixtus IV handpicked to paint frescoes on the walls of the Sistine Chapel.

VIEW OF THE RIVA DEGLI SCHIAVONI, VENICE

Venice, with its light and architecture, its canals and people, was a subject of endless fascination and exploration for Giovanni Antonio Canal, called Canaletto.  In this painting from the late 1730s, the flicker of light on the water, the gondoliers, and the clearly delineated buildings against a crisp blue sky demonstrate Canaletto's passion for recording the details of his native Venice. Often using a camera obscura as an aid to composition, Canaletto painted his compelling views of Venice primarily for Englishmen, a masterpiece being the ultimate souvenir of their Grand Tour.  This painting hangs in the Toledo Art Museum.