The Communion of the Apostles (La communion des apôtres)

Establishing the sacrament of Communion—in which the bread and wine of the Passover feast come to symbolize the body and blood of Christ—Jesus himself distributes the bread to each disciple, suggesting the intimacy each of them shared with him at this solemn moment.

For the artist, this event marked not only the apostles’ liturgical initiation but also the beginning of Christ’s church on earth and the establishment of its most important tenets and rituals.