The Last Supper

Jan Muller|Gillis Coignet|Harmen Jansz. Muller

1594 · Engraving printed from three plates on three sheets; New Holl.'s first state of three · Drawings and Prints

Jan Muller was one of the most sought-after Mannerist printmakers at the end of the sixteenth century. The son of an Amsterdam printer, printmaker, and publisher, he developed a style modeled on that of Hendrick Goltzius, the premier draftsman and printmaker in the northern Netherlands. The Last Supper is Muller’s first engraved night scene. It is after a design by Gillis Coignet a Flemish artist known for his night pieces. It is an extremely large work, printed from three plates on three sheets of paper. The layout of the composition is similar to most representations of this pivotal scene in the story of the Passion, when Christ reveals that one of his followers will betray him. Setting the scene in a darkened room lit only by the long tapers on the table adds to drama of the event. In the background of the central section is a later scene of Christ praying on the Mount of Olive just before his capture.

Artist

Jan Muller|Gillis Coignet|Harmen Jansz. Muller

Date

1594

Medium

Engraving printed from three plates on three sheets; New Holl.'s first state of three

Department

Drawings and Prints

Credit line

Bequest of Herbert Mitchell, 2008