Johann Heinrich Ferdinand Olivier (1785-1841) was born into a noble family from the canton of Vaud, Switzerland. His father, a teacher and philanthropist, would have preferred to keep his son as an associate, and did not permit him to devote himself to art until 1804. During that year he went to Dresden with his elder brother Heinrich, where they became pupils of the landscape artist Jakob-Wilhelm Mechau. In Dresden they came into contact with members of the German Romantic movement, including Caspar David Friedrich. In 1811 Olivier settled in Vienna. There he developed a friendship with Joseph Anton Koch, and joined the group of painters known as the Nazarenes, in 1817. He painted many biblical subjects, and was particularly interested in the representation of landscape as a means of expressing Christian iconography. The background in this painting recalls that deployed in his Abraham and Isaac (1817: National Gallery), in which the artist drew upon his experience of the Salzburg landscape. Also evident here is the consciously archaic style which Olivier shared with his fellow Nazarenes, together with an interest in medieval art and that of the early German masters.

This painting depicts an encounter described in the Gospel of St Luke, between Cleophas, an unnamed disciple, and Jesus, on the road to Emmaus. Christ, wearing a red robe and a blue mantle, stands between the two disciples, both with staffs and hats, deep in conversation. Not recognising him, they discuss their sadness at his recent death. They persuade him to share a meal with them, and during the supper, as he breaks and blesses the bread, they recognise him.

One of a pair of paintings by Olivier in the Royal Collection, depicting a scene during the journey to Emmaus (see RCIN 408939).