The Last Supper (de Juanes)

Christ sits at the center of the table and lifts the consecrated host, the moment of institution rather than the drama of betrayal, the apostles ranged around him in clear, bright color. Juan de Juanes, the leading painter of Renaissance Valencia and often called the Spanish Raphael, gives the scene a calm, devotional order in tune with the Counter-Reformation's stress on the Eucharist. Judas is set apart at the near side, money-bag in hand and his halo darkened. Each apostle is named in gold, making the panel as much an aid to teaching and worship as a narrative.