Christ at Emmaus: The Smaller Plate

Twenty years separate these two interpretations of Christ at Emmaus and demonstrate Rembrandt’s creative revisions. The biblical story tells of a meal Christ shared with two of his disciples after his resurrection. The disciples do not recognize the man as Christ until he breaks the bread and suddenly disappears.

In this earlier work, Rembrandt conveyed the scene as a rather ordinary event. The three men encircle a small table while a hungry dog begs for scraps. But the theatrically drawn drape in the upper left suggests that this is not simply a scene of everyday life. The rays of light emanating from Christ’s head and the billowing of his garment—as if an internal source of energy is radiating outward—convey that this is an exceptional moment.