Christ Washing the Feet of the Disciples

Albrecht Dürer · ca. 1508
The Met, New York

This small woodcut from Dürer’s Small Passion, cut about 1508 and printed in the book of 1511, shows the evening of the Last Supper.

Jesus kneels on the floor with a cloth tied around his waist and washes Peter’s foot in a wide basin. Peter, seated, lays his hand on his own head, and the other apostles crowd around under a hanging lamp with two candles.

From the text

A towel wrapped around his waist (John 13:4)

Water poured into a basin to wash the disciples’ feet (John 13:5)

Peter: “not only my feet, but my hands and my head as well!” (John 13:9)

The artist’s own

A brass candle holder hanging from the ceiling, like those in German houses

The apostles in long cloaks crowding a small room

Details

Kneeling

Jesus kneels, a cloth tied around his waist.

The basin

Peter’s foot in the wide basin.

My head as well

Peter puts his hand to his head.

Candles

A hanging candle holder lights the room.

Albrecht Dürer, German, 1471–1528. The Metropolitan Museum of Art, New York (Gift of Junius Spencer Morgan, 1919; acc. 19.73.179) · Woodcut · Public Domain — The Met Open Access (CC0). The Met Collection API record: "isPublicDomain": true; The Met marks such works on its website "with the Creative Commons Zero (CC0) icon".

The verses

John 13:4–10So He got up from the supper, laid aside His outer garments, and wrapped a towel around His waist. After that, He poured water into a basin and began to wash the disciples’ feet and dry them with the towel that was around Him. He came to Simon Peter, who asked Him, “Lord, are You going to wash my feet?” Jesus replied, “You do not realize now what I am doing, but later you will understand.” “Never shall You wash my feet!” Peter told Him. Jesus answered, “Unless I wash you, you have no part with Me.” “Then, Lord,” Simon Peter replied, “not only my feet, but my hands and my head as well!” Jesus told him, “Whoever has already bathed needs only to wash his feet, and he will be completely clean. And you are clean, though not all of you.”