The Last Supper (1521): Art, History and Details

The Last Supper (1521) is in the Cleveland Museum of Art collection. The museum's creator attribution is Lucas van Leyden (Netherlandish, 1494–about 1533).

The work and its context

The museum's open-access catalogue describes the work:

In this compact scene, Lucas van Leyden offered a condensed view of the Last Supper, focusing on Christ and Saint John—the Beloved Apostle—on the far side of the table and Judas—the apostle who would betray Christ—on the near side. Wine flows freely, mixing hints of its symbolic significance with a certain hunger for drink as shown by the disciple who receives a replenishment in the foreground. The artist may have seen or owned the 1510 woodcut by Albrecht Dürer, borrowing elements such as the vertical format, Christ’s relationship to John, and the platter on the table but rendering them in reverse and with fewer overall figures.

Object facts

• Title: The Last Supper
• Date: 1521
• Creator attribution: Lucas van Leyden (Netherlandish, 1494–about 1533)
• Culture: Netherlands, 16th century
• Type: Print
• Technique: engraving
• Dimensions: Sheet: 11.5 x 7.6 cm (4 1/2 x 3 in.)
• Collection: PR - Engraving
• Department: Prints
• Accession number: 1923.55.1

A detail from the museum

This image is smaller than most smart phones, inviting the viewer to lean in and look closely.

Collection credit

Dudley P. Allen Fund

View the collection record

See the museum's photographs and full catalogue entry. Catalogue text is reproduced from the Cleveland Museum of Art's open-access data, with HTML formatting removed. This object and its supplied image are designated CC0.