5. German, Austrian and Hungarian Baroque Painting and Sculpture (17-18th c.)

The work was executed in the workshop of one of the greatest painters of the Central European Baroque, the Austrian Maulbertsch, probably with the master’s direct involvement. An earlier version of the composition is now conserved in the Residenzgalerie in Salzburg. Originally each must have decorated a refectory. The Last Supper had been for centuries a frequent theme for the decoration of refectories. The underlying idea of this decorative program was the parallel drawn between the last supper – when the Eucharist was founded –, and everyday meals. The centre of gravity in this dynamic, asymmetric composition is shifted to the left: all the protagonists are shown here, in the left half of the pictorial field. Jesus’ head is accentuated not by a halo but by the lighting of the background. The traitor Judas looks out onto the viewer from the lower left corner with an expression of indifference. He puts his right arm akimbo and clutches the moneybag. A dog lays his head on his stretched leg. The gesticulating group of the apostles on the right serves to balance the composition. The glowing light and the suggestive light effects are characteristic of Maulbertsch’s early period. The painter studied in Vienna; later he received numerous commissions also in Hungary. He executed the fresco decoration of the parish church in Sümeg and in the Carmelite church of Székesfehérvár, and worked also in Vác, Győr, Pápa, Eger and Szombathely.