Last Supper in Christian art
Encyclopedia
The Last Supper
of Jesus
and the Twelve Apostles has been a popular subject in Christian art
, often as part of a cycle showing the Life of Christ
. Depictions of the Last Supper in Christian art date back to early Christianity
and can be seen in the Catacombs of Rome
.
The Last Supper was depicted both in the Eastern
and Western
Churches. By the Renaissance
, it was a favorite subject in Italian art. It was also one of the few subjects to be continued in Lutheran altarpieces for a few decades after the Protestant Reformation
.
There are two major scenes shown in depictions of the Last Supper: the dramatic announcement of the betrayal of Jesus
, and the institution of the tradition of the Eucharist
. After the meal the further scenes of Jesus washing the feet of his apostles and the farewell of Jesus to his disciples
are also sometimes depicted.
(11:23-26), which dates to the middle of the first century. The Last Supper was likely a retelling of the events of the last meal of Jesus among the early Christian community
, and became a ritual which recounted that meal. The earliest depictions of the Last Supper occur in the fresco
es of the Catacomb of Rome. They display Jesus and the Apostles behind a semi-circular table. They are depicted as reclining on couches, in the Roman manner of dining, although according to another specialist "The motif of the Last supper appears neither among the paintings of the catacombs nor the sculptures on sarcophagi ... The few frescos in the catacombs representing a meal in which Christ and some of the disciples participate show not the Last supper but refer to the future meal promised by the exalted Christ in his heavenly kingdom", seeing the subject as beginning to be depicted in the 6th century.
Byzantine
artists sometimes used semi-circular tables in their depictions, but more frequently they focused on the Communion of the Apostles, rather than the reclining figures having a meal. The Last Supper was also one of the few subjects to be continued in Lutheran altarpieces for a few decades after the Protestant Reformation
, sometimes showing portraits of leading Protestant theologians as the apostles.
By the Renaissance
, the Last Supper was a favorite subject in Italian art, especially in the refectories
of monasteries. These depictions typically portrayed the reactions of the disciples to the announcement of the betrayal of Jesus. Most of the Italian depictions use an oblong table, and not a semi-circular one, and sometimes Judas is shown by himself clutching his money bag. With an oblong table, the artist had to decide whether to show the apostles on both sides, so with some seen from behind, or all on one side of the table facing the viewer. Sometimes only Judas is on the side nearest the viewer, allowing the bag to be seen. The placement on both sides was further complicated when halos
were obligatory; was the halo to be placed as though in front of the rear-facing apostles faces, or as though fixed to the back of their head, obscuring the view? Duccio
, daringly for the time, just omits the halos of the apostles nearest the viewer. As artists became increasingly interested in realism and the depiction of space, a three-sided interior setting became more clearly shown and elaborate, sometimes with a landscape view behind, as in the wall-paintings by Leonardo da Vinci
and Perugino. Artists who showed the scene on a ceiling or in a relief
sculpture had further difficulties in devising a composition.
Typically, the only apostles easily identifiable are Judas
, often with his bag containing thirty pieces of silver
visible, John the Evangelist
, normally placed on Jesus's right side, usually "reclining in Jesus' bosom" as his Gospel says (see below), or even asleep, and Saint Peter
on Jesus's left. The food on the table often includes a paschal lamb
; in Late Antique and Byzantine versions fish was the main dish. In later works the bread may become more like a communion host
, and more food, eating, and figures of servers appear.
, is the dramatic and dynamic moment of Jesus' announcement of his betrayal
. In this the various reactions produced by the Apostles and the depictions of their emotions provide a rich subject for artistic exploration, following the text of Chapter 13 of the Gospel of John
(21-29, a "sop" is a piece of bread dipped in sauce or wine):
Especially in Eastern depictions, Judas may only be identifiable because he is stretching out his hand for the food, as the other apostles sit with hands out of sight, or because he lacks a halo. In the West he often has red hair. Sometimes Judas takes the sop in his mouth directly from Jesus' hand, and when he is shown eating it a small devil may be shown next to or on it. The betrayal scene may also be combined with the other episodes of the meal, sometimes with a second figure of Christ washing Peter's feet.
, which may be shown as either the moment of the consecration
of the bread and wine, with all still seated, or their distribution in the first Holy Communion, technically known in art history as the Communion of the Apostles (though in depictions set at the table the distinction is often not made), which is common in very early depictions and throughout Byzantine
art, and in the West reappears from the 14th century onwards. The depictions of both scenes are generally solemn and mystical; in the latter Jesus may be standing and delivers the communion bread and wine to each apostle, like a priest giving the sacrament
of Holy Communion. In early and Eastern Orthodox depictions the apostles may queue up to receive it, as though in a church, with Jesus standing under or next to a ciborium
, the small open structure over the altar, which was much more common in Early Medieval churches. An example of this type is in mosaic
in the apse
of the Saint Sophia Cathedral in Kiev
, under a very large standing Virgin.
liturgy
and year-round monastic hospitality at various times and places, being regularly performed by the Byzantine emperors on Maundy Thursday
for example, and at times being part of English Royal Maundy ceremonies performed by the monarch. For a while it formed part of the Baptism
ceremony in some places. It mostly appears in cycles of the Passion of Jesus, often next to the Last Supper meal and given equal prominence, as in the 6th century St Augustine Gospels and 12th century Ingeborg Psalter
, and also may appear in cycles of the Life of Saint Peter. Where space is limited only Jesus and Peter may be shown, and many scenes show the amazement of Peter, following John. A number of scenes appear on 4th century sarcophagi, in one case placed to correspond with a scene of Pontius Pilate
washing his hands. Some types show Jesus standing as he is confronted by Peter; in others he is bending or kneeling to perform the washing. The subject had various theological interpretations which affected the composition, but gradually became less common in the West by the Late Middle Ages, though there are at least two large examples by Tintoretto
, one originally paired with a Last Supper.
The last episode, far less commonly shown, is the farewell of Jesus to his disciples
, in which Judas Iscariot
is no longer present, having left the supper; it is mostly found in Italian trecento
painting. The depictions here are generally melancholy, as Jesus prepares his disciples for his departure.
(c. 1490) in Florence
shows Judas sitting separately, and is considered on of Perugino's best pieces. It is located in the convent that housed noble Florentine girls. Upon its rediscovery was initially attributed to Raphael
.
Leonardo da Vinci's depiction (late 1490s) which is considered the first work of High Renaissance
art due to its high level of harmony, uses the first theme. Leonardo balanced the varying emotions of the individual apostles when Jesus stated that one of them would betray him, and portrayed the various attributes of anger, surprise and shock. It is likely that Leonardo da Vinci
was already familiar with Ghirlandaio's Last Supper
, as well as that of Castagno
, and painted his own Last Supper in a more dramatic form to contrast with the stillness of these works, so that more emotion would be displayed.
Tintoretto's depiction
(1590-1592) at the Basilica di San Giorgio Maggiore in Venice, also depicts the announcement of the betrayal, and includes secondary characters carrying or taking the dishes from the table.
There are far more numerous secondary figures in the huge painting now called The Feast in the House of Levi
by Veronese
. This was delivered in 1573 as a Last Supper to the Dominicans
of Santi Giovanni e Paolo, Venice for their refectory, but Veronese was called before the Inquisition
to explain why it contained "buffoons, drunken Germans, dwarfs and other such scurrilities" as well as extravagant costumes and settings, in what is indeed a fantasy version of a Venetian patrician feast. Veronese was told that he must change his painting within a three month period - in fact he simply changed the title to the present one, still an episode from the Gospels, but a less doctrinally central one, and no more was said.
The altarpiece
of the main church in Martin Luther
's home of Wittenberg
is by Lucas Cranach the Elder
(with his son and workshop), with a traditional representation of the Last Supper in the main panel, except that the apostle having a drink poured is a portrait of Luther, and the server may be one of Cranach. By the time the painting was installed in 1547, Luther was dead. Other panels show the Protestant theologians Philipp Melanchthon
and Johannes Bugenhagen
, pastor of the church, though not in biblical scenes. Other figures in the panels are probably portraits of figures from the town, now unidentifiable. Another work, the "Altarpiece of the Reformers" in Dessau
, by Lucas Cranach the Younger
(1565, see gallery) shows all the apostles except Judas as Protestant churchmen or nobility, and it is now the younger Cranach shown as the cupbearer. However such works are rare, and Protestant paintings soon reverted to more traditional depictions.
As in many other Northern European works, in Paul Ruben's depiction
a dog with a bone can be seen near Judas, perhaps representing greed, or Satan, as the companion of Judas, as in John 13:27.
Salvadore Dali's depiction
combines the typical Christian themes with modern approaches of Surrealism
and also includes geometric elements of symmetry and polygonal
proportion.
Last Supper
The Last Supper is the final meal that, according to Christian belief, Jesus shared with his Twelve Apostles in Jerusalem before his crucifixion. The Last Supper provides the scriptural basis for the Eucharist, also known as "communion" or "the Lord's Supper".The First Epistle to the Corinthians is...
of Jesus
Jesus
Jesus of Nazareth , commonly referred to as Jesus Christ or simply as Jesus or Christ, is the central figure of Christianity...
and the Twelve Apostles has been a popular subject in Christian art
Christian art
Christian art is sacred art produced in an attempt to illustrate, supplement and portray in tangible form the principles of Christianity, though other definitions are possible. Most Christian groups use or have used art to some extent, although some have had strong objections to some forms of...
, often as part of a cycle showing the Life of Christ
Life of Christ
The Life of Christ as a narrative cycle in Christian art comprises a number of different subjects, which were often grouped in series or cycles of works in a variety of media, narrating the life of Jesus on earth, as distinguished from the many other subjects in art showing the eternal life of...
. Depictions of the Last Supper in Christian art date back to early Christianity
Early Christianity
Early Christianity is generally considered as Christianity before 325. The New Testament's Book of Acts and Epistle to the Galatians records that the first Christian community was centered in Jerusalem and its leaders included James, Peter and John....
and can be seen in the Catacombs of Rome
Catacombs of Rome
The Catacombs of Rome are ancient catacombs, underground burial places under or near Rome, Italy, of which there are at least forty, some discovered only in recent decades. Though most famous for Christian burials, either in separate catacombs or mixed together, they began in the 2nd century, much...
.
The Last Supper was depicted both in the Eastern
Eastern Christianity
Eastern Christianity comprises the Christian traditions and churches that developed in the Balkans, Eastern Europe, Asia Minor, the Middle East, Northeastern Africa, India and parts of the Far East over several centuries of religious antiquity. The term is generally used in Western Christianity to...
and Western
Western Christianity
Western Christianity is a term used to include the Latin Rite of the Catholic Church and groups historically derivative thereof, including the churches of the Anglican and Protestant traditions, which share common attributes that can be traced back to their medieval heritage...
Churches. By the Renaissance
Renaissance
The Renaissance was a cultural movement that spanned roughly the 14th to the 17th century, beginning in Italy in the Late Middle Ages and later spreading to the rest of Europe. The term is also used more loosely to refer to the historical era, but since the changes of the Renaissance were not...
, it was a favorite subject in Italian art. It was also one of the few subjects to be continued in Lutheran altarpieces for a few decades after the Protestant Reformation
Protestant Reformation
The Protestant Reformation was a 16th-century split within Western Christianity initiated by Martin Luther, John Calvin and other early Protestants. The efforts of the self-described "reformers", who objected to the doctrines, rituals and ecclesiastical structure of the Roman Catholic Church, led...
.
There are two major scenes shown in depictions of the Last Supper: the dramatic announcement of the betrayal of Jesus
Jesus predicts his betrayal
Jesus predicts his betrayal is an episode in the New testament narrative which is included in all four Canonical Gospels.This prediction takes place during the Last Supper in Matthew 26:24-25, Mark 14:18-21, Luke 22:21-23 and John 13:21-30....
, and the institution of the tradition of the Eucharist
Eucharist
The Eucharist , also called Holy Communion, the Sacrament of the Altar, the Blessed Sacrament, the Lord's Supper, and other names, is a Christian sacrament or ordinance...
. After the meal the further scenes of Jesus washing the feet of his apostles and the farewell of Jesus to his disciples
Farewell discourse
In the New Testament, Chapters 14-17 of the Gospel of John are known as the Farewell Discourse given by Jesus to eleven of his disciples at the conclusion of the Last Supper in Jerusalem, the night before his crucifixion....
are also sometimes depicted.
Setting
The earliest known written reference to the Last Supper is in Paul's First Epistle to the CorinthiansFirst Epistle to the Corinthians
The first epistle of Paul the apostle to the Corinthians, often referred to as First Corinthians , is the seventh book of the New Testament of the Bible...
(11:23-26), which dates to the middle of the first century. The Last Supper was likely a retelling of the events of the last meal of Jesus among the early Christian community
Early Christianity
Early Christianity is generally considered as Christianity before 325. The New Testament's Book of Acts and Epistle to the Galatians records that the first Christian community was centered in Jerusalem and its leaders included James, Peter and John....
, and became a ritual which recounted that meal. The earliest depictions of the Last Supper occur in the fresco
Fresco
Fresco is any of several related mural painting types, executed on plaster on walls or ceilings. The word fresco comes from the Greek word affresca which derives from the Latin word for "fresh". Frescoes first developed in the ancient world and continued to be popular through the Renaissance...
es of the Catacomb of Rome. They display Jesus and the Apostles behind a semi-circular table. They are depicted as reclining on couches, in the Roman manner of dining, although according to another specialist "The motif of the Last supper appears neither among the paintings of the catacombs nor the sculptures on sarcophagi ... The few frescos in the catacombs representing a meal in which Christ and some of the disciples participate show not the Last supper but refer to the future meal promised by the exalted Christ in his heavenly kingdom", seeing the subject as beginning to be depicted in the 6th century.
Byzantine
Byzantine
Byzantine usually refers to the Roman Empire during the Middle Ages.Byzantine may also refer to:* A citizen of the Byzantine Empire, or native Greek during the Middle Ages...
artists sometimes used semi-circular tables in their depictions, but more frequently they focused on the Communion of the Apostles, rather than the reclining figures having a meal. The Last Supper was also one of the few subjects to be continued in Lutheran altarpieces for a few decades after the Protestant Reformation
Protestant Reformation
The Protestant Reformation was a 16th-century split within Western Christianity initiated by Martin Luther, John Calvin and other early Protestants. The efforts of the self-described "reformers", who objected to the doctrines, rituals and ecclesiastical structure of the Roman Catholic Church, led...
, sometimes showing portraits of leading Protestant theologians as the apostles.
By the Renaissance
Renaissance
The Renaissance was a cultural movement that spanned roughly the 14th to the 17th century, beginning in Italy in the Late Middle Ages and later spreading to the rest of Europe. The term is also used more loosely to refer to the historical era, but since the changes of the Renaissance were not...
, the Last Supper was a favorite subject in Italian art, especially in the refectories
Refectory
A refectory is a dining room, especially in monasteries, boarding schools and academic institutions. One of the places the term is most often used today is in graduate seminaries...
of monasteries. These depictions typically portrayed the reactions of the disciples to the announcement of the betrayal of Jesus. Most of the Italian depictions use an oblong table, and not a semi-circular one, and sometimes Judas is shown by himself clutching his money bag. With an oblong table, the artist had to decide whether to show the apostles on both sides, so with some seen from behind, or all on one side of the table facing the viewer. Sometimes only Judas is on the side nearest the viewer, allowing the bag to be seen. The placement on both sides was further complicated when halos
Halo (religious iconography)
A halo is a ring of light that surrounds a person in art. They have been used in the iconography of many religions to indicate holy or sacred figures, and have at various periods also been used in images of rulers or heroes...
were obligatory; was the halo to be placed as though in front of the rear-facing apostles faces, or as though fixed to the back of their head, obscuring the view? Duccio
Duccio
Duccio di Buoninsegna was one of the most influential Italian artists of his time. Born in Siena, Tuscany, he worked mostly with pigment and egg tempera and like most of his contemporaries painted religious subjects...
, daringly for the time, just omits the halos of the apostles nearest the viewer. As artists became increasingly interested in realism and the depiction of space, a three-sided interior setting became more clearly shown and elaborate, sometimes with a landscape view behind, as in the wall-paintings by Leonardo da Vinci
Leonardo da Vinci
Leonardo di ser Piero da Vinci was an Italian Renaissance polymath: painter, sculptor, architect, musician, scientist, mathematician, engineer, inventor, anatomist, geologist, cartographer, botanist and writer whose genius, perhaps more than that of any other figure, epitomized the Renaissance...
and Perugino. Artists who showed the scene on a ceiling or in a relief
Relief
Relief is a sculptural technique. The term relief is from the Latin verb levo, to raise. To create a sculpture in relief is thus to give the impression that the sculpted material has been raised above the background plane...
sculpture had further difficulties in devising a composition.
Typically, the only apostles easily identifiable are Judas
Judas Iscariot
Judas Iscariot was, according to the New Testament, one of the twelve disciples of Jesus. He is best known for his betrayal of Jesus to the hands of the chief priests for 30 pieces of silver.-Etymology:...
, often with his bag containing thirty pieces of silver
Thirty pieces of silver
Thirty pieces of silver was the price for which Judas Iscariot betrayed Jesus, according to the Gospel of Matthew 26:15 in the Christian New Testament. Before the Last Supper, Judas went to the chief priests and agreed to hand over Jesus in exchange for 30 silver coins...
visible, John the Evangelist
John the Evangelist
Saint John the Evangelist is the conventional name for the author of the Gospel of John...
, normally placed on Jesus's right side, usually "reclining in Jesus' bosom" as his Gospel says (see below), or even asleep, and Saint Peter
Saint Peter
Saint Peter or Simon Peter was an early Christian leader, who is featured prominently in the New Testament Gospels and the Acts of the Apostles. The son of John or of Jonah and from the village of Bethsaida in the province of Galilee, his brother Andrew was also an apostle...
on Jesus's left. The food on the table often includes a paschal lamb
Lamb of God
The title Lamb of God appears in the Gospel of John, with the exclamation of John the Baptist: "Behold the Lamb of God who takes away the sin of the world" in John 1:29 when he sees Jesus....
; in Late Antique and Byzantine versions fish was the main dish. In later works the bread may become more like a communion host
Sacramental bread
Sacramental bread, sometimes called the lamb, altar bread, host or simply Communion bread, is the bread which is used in the Christian ritual of the Eucharist.-Eastern Catholic and Orthodox:...
, and more food, eating, and figures of servers appear.
Major scenes
There are two major episodes or moments depicted in Last Supper scenes, each with specific variants. There are also other, less frequently depicted scenes, such as the washing of the feet of the disciples.The Betrayal
The first episode, much the most common in Western Medieval artMedieval art
The medieval art of the Western world covers a vast scope of time and place, over 1000 years of art history in Europe, and at times the Middle East and North Africa...
, is the dramatic and dynamic moment of Jesus' announcement of his betrayal
Jesus predicts his betrayal
Jesus predicts his betrayal is an episode in the New testament narrative which is included in all four Canonical Gospels.This prediction takes place during the Last Supper in Matthew 26:24-25, Mark 14:18-21, Luke 22:21-23 and John 13:21-30....
. In this the various reactions produced by the Apostles and the depictions of their emotions provide a rich subject for artistic exploration, following the text of Chapter 13 of the Gospel of John
Gospel of John
The Gospel According to John , commonly referred to as the Gospel of John or simply John, and often referred to in New Testament scholarship as the Fourth Gospel, is an account of the public ministry of Jesus...
(21-29, a "sop" is a piece of bread dipped in sauce or wine):
21 When Jesus had thus said, he was troubled in the spirit, and testified, and said, Verily, verily, I say unto you, that one of you shall betray me.
22 The disciples looked one on another, doubting of whom he spake.
23 There was at the table reclining in Jesus' bosom one of his disciples, whom Jesus loved.
24 Simon Peter therefore beckoneth to him, and saith unto him, Tell [us] who it is of whom he speaketh.
25 He leaning back, as he was, on Jesus' breast saith unto him, Lord, who is it?
26 Jesus therefore answereth, He it is, for whom I shall dip the sop, and give it him. So when he had dipped the sop, he taketh and giveth it to Judas, [the son] of Simon Iscariot.
27 And after the sop, then entered Satan into him. Jesus therefore saith unto him, What thou doest, do quickly.
28 Now no man at the table knew for what intent he spake this unto him.
29 For some thought, because Judas had the bag, that Jesus said unto him, Buy what things we have need of for the feast; or, that he should give something to the poor.
30 He then having received the sop went out straightway: and it was night.
Especially in Eastern depictions, Judas may only be identifiable because he is stretching out his hand for the food, as the other apostles sit with hands out of sight, or because he lacks a halo. In the West he often has red hair. Sometimes Judas takes the sop in his mouth directly from Jesus' hand, and when he is shown eating it a small devil may be shown next to or on it. The betrayal scene may also be combined with the other episodes of the meal, sometimes with a second figure of Christ washing Peter's feet.
The Eucharist
The second scene shows the institution of the tradition of the EucharistEucharist
The Eucharist , also called Holy Communion, the Sacrament of the Altar, the Blessed Sacrament, the Lord's Supper, and other names, is a Christian sacrament or ordinance...
, which may be shown as either the moment of the consecration
Consecration
Consecration is the solemn dedication to a special purpose or service, usually religious. The word "consecration" literally means "to associate with the sacred". Persons, places, or things can be consecrated, and the term is used in various ways by different groups...
of the bread and wine, with all still seated, or their distribution in the first Holy Communion, technically known in art history as the Communion of the Apostles (though in depictions set at the table the distinction is often not made), which is common in very early depictions and throughout Byzantine
Byzantine
Byzantine usually refers to the Roman Empire during the Middle Ages.Byzantine may also refer to:* A citizen of the Byzantine Empire, or native Greek during the Middle Ages...
art, and in the West reappears from the 14th century onwards. The depictions of both scenes are generally solemn and mystical; in the latter Jesus may be standing and delivers the communion bread and wine to each apostle, like a priest giving the sacrament
Sacrament
A sacrament is a sacred rite recognized as of particular importance and significance. There are various views on the existence and meaning of such rites.-General definitions and terms:...
of Holy Communion. In early and Eastern Orthodox depictions the apostles may queue up to receive it, as though in a church, with Jesus standing under or next to a ciborium
Ciborium (architecture)
In ecclesiastical architecture, a ciborium is a canopy or covering supported by columns, freestanding in the sanctuary, that stands over and covers the altar in a basilica or other church. It may also be known by the more general term of baldachin, though ciborium is often considered more correct...
, the small open structure over the altar, which was much more common in Early Medieval churches. An example of this type is in mosaic
Mosaic
Mosaic is the art of creating images with an assemblage of small pieces of colored glass, stone, or other materials. It may be a technique of decorative art, an aspect of interior decoration, or of cultural and spiritual significance as in a cathedral...
in the apse
Apse
In architecture, the apse is a semicircular recess covered with a hemispherical vault or semi-dome...
of the Saint Sophia Cathedral in Kiev
Saint Sophia Cathedral in Kiev
Saint Sophia Cathedral in Kiev is an outstanding architectural monument of Kievan Rus'. Today, it is one of the city's best known landmarks and the first Ukrainian patrimony to be inscribed on the World Heritage List along with the Kiev Cave Monastery complex...
, under a very large standing Virgin.
Washing of Feet and Farewell
The washing of feet, was an element of hospitality normally performed by servants or slaves, and a mark of great respect if performed by the host. It is recorded in John , as preceding the meal, and subsequently became a feature of Holy WeekHoly Week
Holy Week in Christianity is the last week of Lent and the week before Easter...
liturgy
Liturgy
Liturgy is either the customary public worship done by a specific religious group, according to its particular traditions or a more precise term that distinguishes between those religious groups who believe their ritual requires the "people" to do the "work" of responding to the priest, and those...
and year-round monastic hospitality at various times and places, being regularly performed by the Byzantine emperors on Maundy Thursday
Maundy Thursday
Maundy Thursday, also known as Holy Thursday, Covenant Thursday, Great & Holy Thursday, and Thursday of Mysteries, is the Christian feast or holy day falling on the Thursday before Easter that commemorates the Last Supper of Jesus Christ with the Apostles as described in the Canonical gospels...
for example, and at times being part of English Royal Maundy ceremonies performed by the monarch. For a while it formed part of the Baptism
Baptism
In Christianity, baptism is for the majority the rite of admission , almost invariably with the use of water, into the Christian Church generally and also membership of a particular church tradition...
ceremony in some places. It mostly appears in cycles of the Passion of Jesus, often next to the Last Supper meal and given equal prominence, as in the 6th century St Augustine Gospels and 12th century Ingeborg Psalter
Ingeborg Psalter
The Ingeborg Psalter is a late 12th century illuminated Psalter now housed in the Musée Condé of Chantilly, France.It was created about 1195 in northern France for Ingeborg of Denmark, wife of King Philip II of France...
, and also may appear in cycles of the Life of Saint Peter. Where space is limited only Jesus and Peter may be shown, and many scenes show the amazement of Peter, following John. A number of scenes appear on 4th century sarcophagi, in one case placed to correspond with a scene of Pontius Pilate
Pontius Pilate
Pontius Pilatus , known in the English-speaking world as Pontius Pilate , was the fifth Prefect of the Roman province of Judaea, from AD 26–36. He is best known as the judge at Jesus' trial and the man who authorized the crucifixion of Jesus...
washing his hands. Some types show Jesus standing as he is confronted by Peter; in others he is bending or kneeling to perform the washing. The subject had various theological interpretations which affected the composition, but gradually became less common in the West by the Late Middle Ages, though there are at least two large examples by Tintoretto
Tintoretto
Tintoretto , real name Jacopo Comin, was a Venetian painter and a notable exponent of the Renaissance school. For his phenomenal energy in painting he was termed Il Furioso...
, one originally paired with a Last Supper.
The last episode, far less commonly shown, is the farewell of Jesus to his disciples
Farewell discourse
In the New Testament, Chapters 14-17 of the Gospel of John are known as the Farewell Discourse given by Jesus to eleven of his disciples at the conclusion of the Last Supper in Jerusalem, the night before his crucifixion....
, in which Judas Iscariot
Judas Iscariot
Judas Iscariot was, according to the New Testament, one of the twelve disciples of Jesus. He is best known for his betrayal of Jesus to the hands of the chief priests for 30 pieces of silver.-Etymology:...
is no longer present, having left the supper; it is mostly found in Italian trecento
Trecento
The Trecento refers to the 14th century in Italian cultural history.Commonly the Trecento is considered to be the beginning of the Renaissance in art history...
painting. The depictions here are generally melancholy, as Jesus prepares his disciples for his departure.
Key examples
Pietro Perugino's depictionLast Supper (Perugino)
The Last Supper is a fresco by the Italian Renaissance artist Pietro Perugino. It depicts Jesus and the Apostles during the Last Supper, with Judas sitting separately on the near side of the table, as is common in depictions of the Last Supper in Christian art. It is considered on of Perugino's...
(c. 1490) in Florence
Florence
Florence is the capital city of the Italian region of Tuscany and of the province of Florence. It is the most populous city in Tuscany, with approximately 370,000 inhabitants, expanding to over 1.5 million in the metropolitan area....
shows Judas sitting separately, and is considered on of Perugino's best pieces. It is located in the convent that housed noble Florentine girls. Upon its rediscovery was initially attributed to Raphael
Raphael
Raffaello Sanzio da Urbino , better known simply as Raphael, was an Italian painter and architect of the High Renaissance. His work is admired for its clarity of form and ease of composition and for its visual achievement of the Neoplatonic ideal of human grandeur...
.
Leonardo da Vinci's depiction (late 1490s) which is considered the first work of High Renaissance
High Renaissance
The expression High Renaissance, in art history, is a periodizing convention used to denote the apogee of the visual arts in the Italian Renaissance...
art due to its high level of harmony, uses the first theme. Leonardo balanced the varying emotions of the individual apostles when Jesus stated that one of them would betray him, and portrayed the various attributes of anger, surprise and shock. It is likely that Leonardo da Vinci
Leonardo da Vinci
Leonardo di ser Piero da Vinci was an Italian Renaissance polymath: painter, sculptor, architect, musician, scientist, mathematician, engineer, inventor, anatomist, geologist, cartographer, botanist and writer whose genius, perhaps more than that of any other figure, epitomized the Renaissance...
was already familiar with Ghirlandaio's Last Supper
Last Supper (Ghirlandaio)
The Last Supper is a fresco by the Italian Renaissance artist Domenico Ghirlandaio. It depicts Jesus and the Apostles during the Last Supper, with Judas sitting separately on the near side of the table, as is common in depictions of the Last Supper in Christian art.Ghirlandaio was already famous...
, as well as that of Castagno
Andrea del Castagno
Andrea del Castagno was an Italian painter from Florence, influenced chiefly by Tommaso Masaccio and Giotto di Bondone. His works include frescoes in Sant'Apollonia in Florence and the painted equestrian monument of Niccolò da Tolentino in the Cathedral in Florence...
, and painted his own Last Supper in a more dramatic form to contrast with the stillness of these works, so that more emotion would be displayed.
Tintoretto's depiction
Last Supper (Tintoretto)
The Last Supper is a painting by the Italian Renaissance artist Jacopo Tintoretto. It is housed in the Basilica di San Giorgio Maggiore in Venice, northern Italy.-Overview:...
(1590-1592) at the Basilica di San Giorgio Maggiore in Venice, also depicts the announcement of the betrayal, and includes secondary characters carrying or taking the dishes from the table.
There are far more numerous secondary figures in the huge painting now called The Feast in the House of Levi
The Feast in the House of Levi
The Feast in the House of Levi is a 1573 painting by Italian painter Paolo Veronese and one of the largest canvases of the 16th century measuring 555 x 1280 cm . It is now in the Gallerie dell'Accademia, in Venice. It was painted by Veronese for the Dominican order of SS...
by Veronese
Paolo Veronese
Paolo Veronese was an Italian painter of the Renaissance in Venice, famous for paintings such as The Wedding at Cana and The Feast in the House of Levi...
. This was delivered in 1573 as a Last Supper to the Dominicans
Dominican Order
The Order of Preachers , after the 15th century more commonly known as the Dominican Order or Dominicans, is a Catholic religious order founded by Saint Dominic and approved by Pope Honorius III on 22 December 1216 in France...
of Santi Giovanni e Paolo, Venice for their refectory, but Veronese was called before the Inquisition
Inquisition
The Inquisition, Inquisitio Haereticae Pravitatis , was the "fight against heretics" by several institutions within the justice-system of the Roman Catholic Church. It started in the 12th century, with the introduction of torture in the persecution of heresy...
to explain why it contained "buffoons, drunken Germans, dwarfs and other such scurrilities" as well as extravagant costumes and settings, in what is indeed a fantasy version of a Venetian patrician feast. Veronese was told that he must change his painting within a three month period - in fact he simply changed the title to the present one, still an episode from the Gospels, but a less doctrinally central one, and no more was said.
The altarpiece
Altarpiece
An altarpiece is a picture or relief representing a religious subject and suspended in a frame behind the altar of a church. The altarpiece is often made up of two or more separate panels created using a technique known as panel painting. It is then called a diptych, triptych or polyptych for two,...
of the main church in Martin Luther
Martin Luther
Martin Luther was a German priest, professor of theology and iconic figure of the Protestant Reformation. He strongly disputed the claim that freedom from God's punishment for sin could be purchased with money. He confronted indulgence salesman Johann Tetzel with his Ninety-Five Theses in 1517...
's home of Wittenberg
Wittenberg
Wittenberg, officially Lutherstadt Wittenberg, is a city in Germany in the Bundesland Saxony-Anhalt, on the river Elbe. It has a population of about 50,000....
is by Lucas Cranach the Elder
Lucas Cranach the Elder
Lucas Cranach the Elder , was a German Renaissance painter and printmaker in woodcut and engraving...
(with his son and workshop), with a traditional representation of the Last Supper in the main panel, except that the apostle having a drink poured is a portrait of Luther, and the server may be one of Cranach. By the time the painting was installed in 1547, Luther was dead. Other panels show the Protestant theologians Philipp Melanchthon
Philipp Melanchthon
Philipp Melanchthon , born Philipp Schwartzerdt, was a German reformer, collaborator with Martin Luther, the first systematic theologian of the Protestant Reformation, intellectual leader of the Lutheran Reformation, and an influential designer of educational systems...
and Johannes Bugenhagen
Johannes Bugenhagen
Johannes Bugenhagen , also called Doctor Pomeranus by Martin Luther, introduced the Protestant Reformation in the Duchy of Pomerania and Denmark in the 16th century. Among his major accomplishments was organization of Lutheran churches in Northern Germany and Scandinavia...
, pastor of the church, though not in biblical scenes. Other figures in the panels are probably portraits of figures from the town, now unidentifiable. Another work, the "Altarpiece of the Reformers" in Dessau
Dessau
Dessau is a town in Germany on the junction of the rivers Mulde and Elbe, in the Bundesland of Saxony-Anhalt. Since 1 July 2007, it is part of the merged town Dessau-Roßlau. Population of Dessau proper: 77,973 .-Geography:...
, by Lucas Cranach the Younger
Lucas Cranach the Younger
Lucas Cranach the Younger was a German Renaissance artist, known for his woodcuts and paintings.He was the youngest son of Lucas Cranach the Elder and Barbara Brengebier, and began his career as an apprentice in his father's workshop alongside his brother Hans. Henceforth, his own reputation and...
(1565, see gallery) shows all the apostles except Judas as Protestant churchmen or nobility, and it is now the younger Cranach shown as the cupbearer. However such works are rare, and Protestant paintings soon reverted to more traditional depictions.
As in many other Northern European works, in Paul Ruben's depiction
Last Supper (Rubens)
The Last Supper is an oil painting by Peter Paul Rubens. It depicts Jesus and the Apostles during the Last Supper, with Judas turning back towards the viewer and away from the table....
a dog with a bone can be seen near Judas, perhaps representing greed, or Satan, as the companion of Judas, as in John 13:27.
Salvadore Dali's depiction
The Sacrament of the Last Supper
Completed in 1955 after nine months of work, Salvador Dalí’s painting The Sacrament of the Last Supper has remained one of his most popular compositions. Since its arrival at the National Gallery of Art in Washington, D.C...
combines the typical Christian themes with modern approaches of Surrealism
Surrealism
Surrealism is a cultural movement that began in the early 1920s, and is best known for the visual artworks and writings of the group members....
and also includes geometric elements of symmetry and polygonal
Polygon
In geometry a polygon is a flat shape consisting of straight lines that are joined to form a closed chain orcircuit.A polygon is traditionally a plane figure that is bounded by a closed path, composed of a finite sequence of straight line segments...
proportion.
See also
- Ascension of Jesus in Christian artAscension of Jesus in Christian artThe Ascension of Jesus to Heaven as stated in the New Testament has been a frequent subject in Christian art, as well as a theme in theological writings...
- Christian artChristian artChristian art is sacred art produced in an attempt to illustrate, supplement and portray in tangible form the principles of Christianity, though other definitions are possible. Most Christian groups use or have used art to some extent, although some have had strong objections to some forms of...
- Art in Roman CatholicismArt in Roman CatholicismRoman Catholic art consists of all visual works produced in an attempt to illustrate, supplement and portray in tangible form the teachings of the Catholic Church. This includes sculpture, painting, mosaics, metalwork, embroidery and even architecture. Catholic art has played a leading role in the...
- The Reformation and artThe Reformation and artThe Protestant Reformation during the 16th century in Europe ushered in a new artistic tradition that embraced the Protestant agenda and diverged drastically from the southern European tradition and the humanist art produced during the high Renaissance...