Passion Altarpiece: Last Supper

Hans Raphon's Passion Altarpiece Last Supper panel in Prague's National Gallery depicts the institution of the Eucharist — Christ's final meal with his disciples in which he blessed bread and wine as his body and blood — within the continuous Passion narrative cycle. The Last Supper occupied a central theological position in any altarpiece program because it directly prefigured the Eucharist celebrated at the altar before which the painting hung, creating an immediate connection between pictorial narrative and liturgical action. Raphon's treatment serves both narrative and sacramental functions within the Göttingen commission's theological program.

The disciples are arranged around the long table, Christ at center, Judas identifiable by a purse or turned posture. Raphon renders the table setting with care for material detail — bread, vessels, tablecloth — appropriate to the Eucharistic subject. The apostles' varied poses and expressions convey the moment's tension.