ABSTRACT
This chapter focuses on Francisco Ribalta's Last Supper, which was painted as the main panel of the retablo of the Colegio de Corpus Christi, Valencia. By examining the context of Ribalta's Last Supper, it situates this theme in the complex cultural politics of the reform movement in Valencia that pitted Christianity against Islam. The chapter seeks to situate the image of the Last Supper as the archbishop's defense of the sacrament that brings together two historical contexts: the Catholic reforms that the archbishop supported and Spanish Islam. Furthermore, it provides some context for the propagandistic messages of Ribalta's altarpieces commissioned by Archbishop Ribera. In response to his patron, the Archbishop Ribera, Ribalta also understood the power of images and their capacity to function or serve in a didactic fashion; the paintings decorating the chapel helped to elucidate the varied messages of the sermons that were delivered during the celebration of the Mass.
