Day 49 - A moment of revelation

Supper at Emmaus, by Caravaggio, National Gallery, London

It was only when the stranger broke bread and blessed the meal that the penny dropped.

Suddenly, the disciples recognised who it was they were with. That first Easter Sunday had been a day of wonderful and mysterious events, and here was yet another. They had been walking with this stranger that afternoon, listening to him explain how God’s promises in scripture to humankind had been realised in the person of Jesus. And yet, they had been kept from recognising who it was. Until now.

Michelangelo Merisi da Caravaggio’s famous 1601 painting of the supper at Emmaus evocatively and dramatically captures that moment of revelation. One disciple (presumed to be Luke) almost leaps out of his chair, while Cleopas wants to both embrace Christ and at the same time reach out to grab anyone standing before the painting to draw us into the drama. Only the other man (presumably the innkeeper) looks on blankly, oblivious to what he is witnessing.

It is, of course, to Jesus that our eyes are instantly drawn, his raised hand and the calm expression on his downturned face thrown into sharp relief by the shadow on the wall behind him. Caravaggio was a master of light and shade, and he used this to brilliant effect to heighten the drama of the moment.

Sitting on the table, perhaps not immediately catching our attention, is a bowl of fruit. For artists in the time of Caravaggio, still life compositions such as this would not have been of great consequence. The real interest lay in the people on the canvas. But not in the hands of Caravaggio. This bowl of fruit was lavishly and intricately worked. Standing in front of the painting, you feel you could almost reach out, touch and smell.

But this bowl of fruit is much more than a finely rendered element of the overall composition. Like much else about this great work of art it demands our attention, asks us to reflect, and challenges us to respond. There is symbolism in each of the items of fruit; apples are often associated with the fall of humanity, representing sin and redemption; the grapes symbolise the blood of Christ; the figs represent abundance and the promise of salvation; and the pomegranate - with its multitude of seeds – could be seen as a symbol of resurrection and eternal life.

But there is more. The wicker bowl itself has two loose twigs at the front, crossing over each other to form the shape of a fish, an “ichthus”. This became an early enduring symbol of the Christian church and remains so to this day. And look at the shadow cast by the bowl. Isn’t that a fish’s tail?

And finally, notice how the bowl is perched precariously on the edge of the table. The slightest movement by any of those present could easily knock the bowl and make it tumble forward out of the painting altogether.

And where would the fruit then go? It would be for us to catch it.

Philip Clarke