Antonio Molinari (venice 1655 - Venice 1704) - Last Supper.

Antonio Molinari (Venice 1655 - Venice 1704) - Last Supper.

89 x 151 cm without frame, 114 x 173 cm with frame.

Oil on canvas, in a carved and gilded wooden frame.

- We thank Prof. Alberto Craievich for having orally confirmed the attribution of the painting.

Condition report: Lined canvas. Good state of conservation of the pictorial surface.

Antonio Molinari (1655-1704) was a great interpreter of the late Venetian Baroque, a protagonist in laying the foundations for the future transition of the lagoon taste towards the more elegant and decorative solutions of the eighteenth century.

He was a pupil of Antonio Zanchi (1631-1722), famous for his dramatic and theatrical style, which greatly influenced his training and with whom he shared a passion for dynamic compositions rich in chiaroscuro. However, Molinari developed a more fluid, light and decorative personal style, a prelude to the explosion of Rococo painting of the new century. His compositions are animated by figures in theatrical poses and emphatic gestures, full of pathos to accentuate the emotional tension of the moment. The color palette is warm, as the long Venetian tradition suggests, while the use of light creates intense contrasts that give life to the vibrant figures. These, like actors on the stage, seem to want to take over the scene and capture the eye of the viewer.

This “Last Supper” represents a unicum in the career of Molinari, who attempted for the first and only time to realize the famous biblical episode. The figures are arranged in a dramatic way and with broad gestures they convey the pathos of the moment: the apostles question each other in an animated manner while Jesus, the only calm among them, offers a gesture of affection and consolation to the beloved John. A unique detail is Judas, dressed in ochre and with money in his hand, who, twisting, turns his gaze towards the spectator almost as if to ask him if he had been identified as the traitor.


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