DescriptionThis unusually large red-chalk drawing by Rembrandt is closely based on an early print after Leonardo da Vinci's famous mural of the Last Supper in Santa Maria delle Grazia, Milan. Far from slavishly replicating his model, Rembrandt has recast all the figures, intensifying their reactions to Christ's words, and has condensed the space they occupy. The Lehman sheet is one of three drawings by Rembrandt based on Leonardo's "Last Supper," a work that profoundly captured his imagination.

Signatures, Inscriptions, and MarkingsSignature: Inscribed and signed in red chalk along the lower border: Wt[] d[] Rembrandt f (the words preceding "Rembrandt" erased at an unknown date)
Marks: On the verso, a hald-length sketch of Christ (now barely visible), in red chalk, and accountings in black chalk or pencil in an old hand (not Rembrandt's ?).
Inscriptions: Annotated in red chalk at the bottom right: "f 10-"

ProvenanceFriederich August II of Saxony, Dresden (1797–1854), and his descendants; Mr. and Mrs. Silver, Chicago; acquired by Robert Lehman from Silver estate through Knoedler & Co., New York, 1963