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Lucas Cranach the Elder, Wittenberg Altarpiece, central panel: The Last Supper, 1547
The Last Supper takes place at a round table in a hall that opens on to a Saxon landscape. Christ sits at the left, John leaning against him. At the right a servant hands the cup to one of the disciples, a bearded man in black.
The disciples are thought to be portraits of Wittenberg citizens. The bearded man who takes the cup is Luther as he looked in hiding on the Wartburg, as “Junker Jörg”. That a layman is handed the cup was a programme: the Reformation gave the wine to the whole congregation. The wings of the altarpiece show Melanchthon baptising and Bugenhagen hearing confession.
Luther turns round on his seat and takes the cup from the servant.
Christ puts the morsel into the mouth of Judas, who sits in yellow with one foot already outside the circle. The purse hangs at his side.
