Description
The Last Supper in the Alte Pinakothek belonged to a narrative ensemble of seven scenes from the life of Christ that originally formed a single altarpiece. The panel shows Jesus gathered with the apostles around a rectangular table shortly before the Passion. Giotto constructs the scene compactly and focuses attention on the relationships among the figures rather than on elaborate architectural description.
Christ occupies the visual and spiritual center of the group. Saint John leans toward him in the traditional pose of the beloved disciple, while the other apostles are distributed around the table. Different head movements, hand gestures and lines of sight prevent the arrangement from becoming rigid. The table is the main spatial device. Its rectangular form separates the group from the viewer while allowing figures to overlap and turn in depth.
