Ercole de' Roberti, 'The Institution of the Eucharist', probably 1490s

This panel formed the centre of a predella – the lowest part of an altarpiece – which was probably made for the church of San Domenico, Ferrara. It was positioned beneath a large image of the dead Christ lying on his mother’s lap, and to its right was The Israelites gathering Manna.

The bread, which Christ holds in his hand and blesses, is the focus of this picture. We see the Last Supper, when Christ dined with his disciples and asked them to eat bread and drink wine – his body and his blood – in remembrance of him. He also told them of his imminent death: he knew that one of them would betray him. As he speaks, the disciples pray, some with eyes closed, while others look up to heaven. Only one figure breaks the peaceful symmetry of the scene: sitting on the far right, Judas, scowling, looks away from Christ. He places his hand on the bench as though he is about to push himself up and rush off – Ercole’s way of showing that he was the one who would betray Christ.

Technical analysis has revealed that there was once a hole in the left hand side of the panel. This was probably a keyhole, and the picture a door of a cupboard which contained the bread (the host) eaten at Mass. This function explains the depiction of the Last Supper and the panel’s unusual vertical shape; predella panels were usually horizontal. The image of the dead Christ on the main panel of the altarpiece was intended to focus prayer on Christ’s body and suffering, so it was suitable for the altarpiece to house the host. The altarpiece may have been made to commemorate Eleonora of Aragon, the Duchess of Ferrara, who was particularly devoted to the worship of the host as well as meditation upon Christ’s suffering (known as his Passion).

Ercole was the court painter at Ferrara. This panel reveals the precision and skill that probably earned him the job. He painted with the detail of a miniaturist and here, in a small scale, he has created a scene that is both intimate and grand. Tabernacles that contained the host were very often sculpted from marble; some resembled miniature classical-style buildings, with carved pillars and triangular pediments (roofs). Ercole recreates these decorative and architectural details in paint, which allows him to create a richly coloured scene. The pink and grey marble paving slabs in front of the table invite us into the scene, while the depth of the archway that crowns Christ’s head like a semi-circular halo hints at mystery – perhaps that of transubstantiation, the belief in the transformation of the bread and wine into Christ’s body and blood at the Eucharist.

The coloured marble is painted to look as though it is carved with images. Although they are quite faint, figures to the left of the violet pilasters could be shepherds adoring the Christ Child in a nativity scene. Above Christ’s head, the gilded relief in the lunette shows a pagan sacrifice, a reference to Christ’s own sacrifice which heralded a new relationship with God. Above Judas’s head is a scene showing the flight to Egypt, when Christ and his parents took refuge from King Herod who had vowed to kill him, emphasising that Judas’s betrayal led to Christ’s death.

It is possible that this scene held personal significance for the Duke of Ferrara who may have commissioned it. Every year on Maundy Thursday (the day before Easter Friday when the Crucifixion was remembered) the Duke would invite 13 men to his palace to reenact the Last Supper. The lavish interior of this little scene might be intended to reflect the ducal palace at Ferrara.