Collection Publications: Reflections of the Passion (y1953-49)

This small triptych, perhaps commissioned by a wealthy patron and dense with Eucharistic imagery, is appropriate in size for an altar in a private chapel. The Last Supper in the central panel is the model for the Eucharistic meal: Christ takes on the role of priest, blessing the bread at the table, which assumes the role of an altar. At the bottom of the panel, Christ enters Jerusalem on a donkey, an event commemorated on Palm Sunday, which marks the beginning of Holy Week.The Crucifixion, at the top, is flanked by scenes fron1the Passion: Christ in the Garden of Gethsemane, which immediately follows the Last Supper, commemorated on Maundy Thursday, and the Resurrection, celebrated on Easter Sunday. The Latin text recited during the consecration at Mass is included in the center ("For this is my body. For this is my blood of the new covenant . . ."); other liturgical texts appear, at the left ( Gloria in Excelsis) and the right ( The Nicene Creed). Above the lateral texts are Old Testament images of sacrifice that are understood to foreshadow the Mass: Abraham preparing to sacrifice Isaac, and Abraham and Melchisidek.