According to the Gospels, Jesus came to Jerusalem with his disciples to celebrate Passover, a Jewish holiday in honor of the Israelites’ escape from slavery in Egypt. During a meal, Jesus predicted that He would soon be betrayed by one of the apostles present. This was when the Savior instituted the Eucharist, blessing bread and wine and declaring them to be His body and blood.

Images of the Last Supper have been known since the 5th–6th centuries. They follow either the liturgical interpretation, which depicts the Eucharistic celebration within a liturgy, or the historical interpretation, which shows the scene of the meal.

Iconographers who follow the historical interpretation often illustrate the Gospel of John,

In ancient Russian art, icons with a historical interpretation were included in the Feast rows of the iconostasis. The composition of these icons was asymmetrical, with Christ placed at the head of the table on the left side of the image. By the late 17th century, influenced by Western European engravings, the composition of these images had changed and become symmetrical. The image of Christ was placed in the center of the icon, flanked by the apostles. These icons were often placed above the holy gates, the main entrance to the altar. During the modern era, various formats of the image appeared: these icons could be elongated, octagonal, or even round.