Art UK has updated its cookies policy. By using this website you are agreeing to the use of cookies. To find out more read our updated Use of Cookies policy and our updated Privacy policy.

The Institution of the Eucharist

Image credit: The National Gallery, London

How you can use this image

This image can be used for non-commercial research or private study purposes, and other UK exceptions to copyright permitted to users based in the United Kingdom under the Copyright, Designs and Patents Act 1988, as amended and revised. Any other type of use will need to be cleared with the rights holder(s).

Review the copyright credit lines that are located underneath the image, as these indicate who manages the copyright (©) within the artwork, and the photographic rights within the image.

The collection that owns the artwork may have more information on their own website about permitted uses and image licensing options.

Review our guidance pages which explain how you can reuse images, how to credit an image and how to find images in the public domain or with a Creative Commons licence available.

Buy a print or image licence

You can purchase this reproduction

If you have any products in your basket we recommend that you complete your purchase from Art UK before you leave our site to avoid losing your purchases.

Notes

Add or edit a note on this artwork that only you can see. You can find notes again by going to the ‘Notes’ section of your account.

Jesus sits at the head of the table, surrounded by his disciples, holding up a piece of bread, which he blesses: this is the Last Supper. Ercole’s skill at painting detail on a small scale is clear: each disciple has a different facial expression, and the transparent glasses, the carafes and the morsels of bread on the table are painted like a tiny still life. This small panel has an unusual dual function. It was the central panel of a predella – the lowest part of an altarpiece – but evidence of a keyhole suggests that it was also the door of a hidden container housing the bread eaten at Mass. The image is appropriate for such a container, often known as a tabernacle, because at the Last Supper Jesus taught his disciples to eat bread and wine in memory of him, a rite that later became the Eucharist, or Holy Communion.

The National Gallery, London

London

Title

The Institution of the Eucharist

Date

probably 1490s

Medium

Egg on wood

Measurements

H 29.8 x W 21 cm

Accession number

NG1127

Acquisition method

Bought, 1882

Work type

Painting

Tags

See a tag that’s incorrect or offensive? Challenge it and notify Art UK.

Help improve Art UK. Tag artworks and verify existing tags by joining the Tagger community.

Normally on display at

The National Gallery, London

Trafalgar Square, London, Greater London WC2N 5DN England

This venue is open to the public. Not all artworks are on display. If you want to see a particular artwork, please contact the venue.
View venue