Conservation in 1998 with funding from Mr. and Mrs. Donald Miller and the Boston Chapter of Save Venice Inc. in memory of Sydney J. Freedberg; emergency maintenance in 2011 with funding from the Boston Chapter of Save Venice Inc. in memory of Sydney J. Freedberg.

Few masterpieces of Venetian Renaissance painting have remained as shrouded in mystery as the monumental Supper at Emmaus at the church of San Salvador. The painting was long believed to have been commissioned by patriarch Antonio Contarini, the patron of the chapel of the Holy Sacrament in which the canvas has hung since the sixteenth century. Save Venice’s restoration of the work, paired with the discovery of new archival documents, has however brought new evidence to light that has allowed experts to attribute the work to Vittore Carpaccio.

The cleaning of the painting revealed the following inscriptions: “M.D.XIII” and “HIER. PRIOL.S / ANN.XXXVIII.” It was thus discovered that the canvas was executed in 1513 for the 38-year-old Girolamo Priuli, a merchant, banker, and member of a wealthy patrician family of Venice. It had been a devastating year, with the failure of his bank at Rialto. But soon emerging from bankruptcy through his mercantile activities, Priuli vowed to use his earnings to support Venetian religious institutions. At San Salvador, he financed the construction of the entrance from the Mercerie, the cantoria, the organ, and the chapel of San Girolamo, in which he was later buried on 7 July 1547. It is likely that the painting was transferred to the church after that date, possibly by his illegitimate son, also named Girolamo, who had recently joined the regular canons. Initially installed on the altar of San Giovanni, the work was later moved to the chapel of the Holy Sacrament in the place of a Last Supper that had been commissioned by Contarini but was never delivered.

The conservation of the work reopened a debate on the authorship of the painting, which some have attributed to a follower of Giovanni Bellini. Carpaccio may well have been influenced by a Supper in Emmaus painted by Bellini for Giorgio Corner, now lost and known only through a print by Pietro Monaco. The work was housed in the Corner palace, where the present Ca’ Grande is now located. It is plausible that Carpaccio would have had the opportunity to see it given that in 1513 he lived nearby. But the attention to detail in the rendering of costumes, particularly those of the pilgrim on the left, is typical of Carpaccio, and the portrait of Priuli is similar to those in his Disputation with the Elders of the Sanhedrin in the Brera (1514).

The painting depicts an episode from the Gospel of Luke 24:30–31. Two of Christ’s disciples—Cleophas, a convert, and an unnamed companion, probably Luke the Evangelist—had been on their way to Emmaus after the Crucifixion when they were joined on the road by a stranger. When the three had supper together, the stranger suddenly revealed himself to be the resurrected Christ.

Typical of Carpaccio, the light streaming in through the window underscores the miraculous nature of the event. The two disciples seated at the ends of the table respond to the revelation in contrasting ways. Cleophas, on the left, has abandoned his belongings and meditates upon the mystery in a state of rapture, while Luke, his hat still on his head and sack strung over his shoulder, is ready to continue his journey. But Carpaccio includes two dinner guests who were not part of the Biblical narrative. The Turk, resplendent in an Ottoman turban was the artist’s invention, possibly to set the scene in the Holy Land and perhaps to symbolize an infidel who had already renounced a false God. He is joined by Girolamo Priuli, clad in black, who raises his hand to his chest and vows to follow the example of the Evangelist, opting for the active life (Luke) over the contemplative (Cleophas). As noted in his diary, Priuli sought to live his life as “the least of the apostles,” caring for the needy in order to partake of the feast of the Lord.

During restoration, conservator Ottorino Nonfarmale removed layers of heavy overpainting from previous conservations, revealing a work of extraordinarily high pictorial quality that is consistent with Carpaccio’s technique. Moreover, an inscription with the date of 1513 (“M.D.XIII”) and another with the patron’s name and age (“HIER.PRIOL.S / ANN.XXXVIII.”) were brought to light.

In 2011, the painting was suffering from mold growth likely originating from materials used in a previous re-lining of the canvas. Conservator Claudia Vittori treated the issue and also performed a conservation maintenance treatment by removing dirt and dust deposits on the surface of the painting.

For select projects, conservation dossiers in Italian containing limited textual and photographic documentation may be available for consultation by appointment at the Venice office of Save Venice and the Rosand Library & Study Center. For inquiries, please contact us at venice@savevenice.org.

Vittore Carpaccio (c. 1465–c. 1526) [attr.]
Supper at Emmaus
1513, oil on canvas
272 x 355 cm

Rearick, William R. “The Rediscovery of Carpaccio’s Supper at Emmaus, Dated 1513, in the Church of San Salvador.” Save Venice Journal (1999): 14-17. Link to the article

Finocchi Ghersi, Lorenzo. Il Rinascimento Veneziano di Giovanni Bellini. Venice: Consorzio Venezia Nuova, 1999

Heinemann, Fritz. Giovanni Bellini e i belliniani. Venice: Neri Pozza, 1962, 2 vols.

Matino, Gabriele and Patricia Fortini Brown, eds. Carpaccio in Venice: A Guide. Venice: Marsilio, 2020

Merkel, Ettore, ed. La Cena in Emmaus di San Salvador. Milan: Electa, 1999