On Tuesdays in June and July, join National Gallery curators Sarah Herring and Francesca Whitlum-Cooper for a quick introduction to the first paintings acquired by the Gallery as part of our Bicentenary year.

In July our focus picture is Eucharist (about 1637‒40), a painting of the Last Supper, by Nicolas Poussin (1594–1664). The painting was the first of the Gallery’s Bicentenary year acquisitions and is the 15th painting by the French artist to enter the Gallery’s collection.  'Eucharist' is part of Poussin’s revolutionary cycle of the the seven rites of the Catholic Church: Baptism, Penance, Eucharist, Confirmation, Marriage, Ordination and Extreme Unction. The series was celebrated for its beauty, innovation, and the careful depiction of these practices in their historic context. Join Francesca Whitlum-Cooper, Acting Curator of later Italian, Spanish and French Paintings for a ten-minute introduction to this painting and its companion picture ‘Marriage’ currently on loan to the Gallery.

Supported by Elizabeth and Daniel Peltz OBE