English: The Last Supper. Limewood, 115.5 × 97.3 cm, Kunstmuseum Basel.

Holbein painted his version of the subject under the influence of Leonardo da Vinci's The Last Supper, which he may have seen on a visit to northern Italy or have known from prints. Only nine of the apostles appear in Holbein's picture, because the outer boards of the painting, which was part of an altarpiece, were lost during iconoclastic riots by reformers in Basel. The head of Christ was sawn out of the picture at one time, and dents from hammer blows are visible on the work. According to the 16th-century inventory of the Amerbach collection, the damaged painting was "coarsely" (aber vnfletig) glued back together. It was often repainted over the centuries and has only been restored to Holbein's work since 1988, though some paint and subtle glazes have been lost. (References: Buck, pp. 38–41; Oskar Bätschmann & Pascal Griener, Hans Holbein, London: Reaktion Books, 1997, ISBN 1861890400, pp. 105–107.)