How to Read Paintings: The Last Supper by Dieric Bouts

A superbly detailed Netherlandish painting that draws the viewer into a devout scene

The Last Supper (1464–1468) by Dieric Bouts. Oil on panel. Central panel of the Altarpiece of the Holy Sacrament. St. Peter’s Church, Leuven, Belgium. Image source Wikimedia Commons

There is, a magnetic quality to this painting.

It was made by the Netherlandish painter Dieric Bouts in around 1468. Not only is the image extraordinary in its detail, it is composed in such a way as to…