How does Supper at Emmaus (Caravaggio, London) elucidate its Milan version?
Caravaggio painted another version of the Supper at Emmaus (now in the Brera, Milan) in 1606. By comparison, the gestures of figures are far more restrained, making presence more important than performance. The art techniques used in both versions is the Trompe-l'œil style which seems to allow characters to move in their gestures, as a means to grab the attention of the observers.This difference possibly reflects the circumstances of Caravaggio's life at that point (he had fled Rome as an outlaw following the death of Ranuccio Tomassoni), or possibly, recognising the ongoing evolution of his art, in the intervening five years he had come to recognise the value of understatement.
Milan Trompe-l'œil Caravaggio Emmaus Supper at Emmaus Brera