Maurice Denis’s softly colored lithograph reimagines the Supper at Emmaus in a deeply personal way. Drawing from Luke’s Gospel account of this miraculous occurrence, the artist depicts two disciples unknowingly sharing a meal with the resurrected Christ. Radiant in divine light, Christ raises a hand, blessing the bread about to be shared. Opposite him, the artist portrays himself as a disciple in prayer; his wife, Marthe, enters on the left.
This room and its furnishings were modeled after an inn in the artist’s hometown. Placing biblical stories in familiar settings can heighten devotion and bring resonance to their meaning.
Denis was a devout Christian and a member of the artist group Les Nabis (The Prophets), who believed that the power of emotion and spirituality far exceeded all else. This personal rendering beautifully illustrates Denis’s hope of devotional expression and celebration of faith as fundamental to the creation of his art.
Joanna Reiling Lindell is vice president of Audience & Experiential Engagement at Thrivent and chief curator of the Thrivent Art Collection.
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