The Last Supper

Fran Anton Maulbertsch was one of the most outstanding painters of the Austrian late baroque period.

The apostles are grouped round a table, some leaning back, some forwards, so that the stark foreshortening and numerous diagonals make the scene appear agitated and turbulent. Alarm over the predicted betrayal is evident. Only John, beside Jesus, sleeps through the turmoil. Opposite them sits Judas, looking out of the picture with a challenge in his eyes, as he hides the bag with the thirty pieces of silver behind his back.
Maulbertsch's Last Supper is an interesting example of a baroque sketch. His treatment of light and colour effects makes him one of the principal pioneers of modern Austrian painting.