The Last Supper - Research Paper Example

?First Last Number The Last Supper For centuries, Jesus Christ is the most prominent religious figure. His lifeis mostly chronicled in the Bible and a historical account of Tacitus mentioned about the death of Christus in the hands of Pontius Pilatus (Canfield 144). Prior to his death, Christ and his disciples were recorded to have the supper before Passover and this later on would be one of the important events not only in the history of Christianity but will also shape the sociological, cultural and political history of the world. Immortalized in painting as early as the 1300s (Dyas 139), the famous scene depicting the last meal of Jesus Christ with his disciples was rendered in varied styles by artists from different art genres. Two of the most famous versions of the last supper were Last Supper (circa 1495-1498) created by Renaissance painter Leonardo Da Vinci (Kleiner 582) and the painting by Mannerist Jacopo Robusti generally known as Tintoretto with the same title created in 1594 (615). Differences can be observed immediately upon viewing the two last supper paintings. Both paintings vary mainly because the two painters belong to different periods and relatively, the social, political and cultural situations during their respective times had influenced Da Vinci and Tintoretto in creating their renditions of the last supper. Aside from the surrounding conditions during the era of the two artists, a close comparison of the two versions with the Biblical accounts about the famous last meal would enlighten as which artist had depicted the scene exactly or was close enough to what really transpired during the night before the Passover. Probing on the accuracy of the two paintings, may demystify the misconceptions regarding the last supper which in recent times had largely influenced the social, political and cultural beliefs. An example of which is the controversial story about the last supper in Da Vinci Code by Dan Brown. A fresco made for the church refectory of Santa Maria delle Grazie in Italy, Da Vinci’s Last Supper measures 13 feet and 9 inches by 29 feet and 10 inches (4.2 meters by 8.9 meters), oil and tempera on the plaster wall were used by the artist (Kleiner 582). The symmetrical painting depicts Jesus Christ at the center of the table with the disciples. The disciples appear to be restless and upset over an announcement made by Christ as shown by their hand gestures pointing towards Christ while expressing their speculations on the identity of the traitor (582). Amidst the commotion, Christ appears to be calm while other two notable characters with different reaction from the rest of the characters in the scene were Judas and John. Judas who was shown to be clutching a money bag is noticeably the only one in the group whose face was dark or in shadows. Representing Judas this way gives the impression that Da Vinci emphasizes that the character was the traitor who would betray Christ. The other distinguishable character is the apostle John whose face in contrast to Judas conveys a deep feeling of sadness and seems to know who the traitor was among the group. On the supper table, bread and wine were placed by the artist as mentioned by John in his gospel that the Passover meal included bread and wine. In contrast to Da Vinci’s version of the last meal of Christ, Tintoretto’s Last Supper oil on canvas found in the church of San Giorgio Maggiore in Venice and measures 12 feet by 19 feet (3.65 x 5.68 in meters) (615) shows a more dramatic representation of the scene. Christ is identified with what appears to be a halo illuminating his head as well as the heads of other disciples except for the one in the red garb which was identified as Judas (Nichols 234). The artist rendered the scene differently which is observable with the additional characters like the servants and angels. The only similarity of Tintoretto’s last supper to Da Vinci’s is that Tintoretto placed Christ at the center of the table. Examining the two paintings closely, several differences can be perceived starting with the symmetry of the compositions. Da Vinci’s was clearly symmetrical compared to Tintoretto’s with the two sides of the painting in balance in terms of geometrical, spatial and color elements. Tintoretto’s painting is visibly asymmetrical, with the left side of the painting crowded with more figures than the other side. The lines in both paintings also differ as Da Vinci mostly used horizontal and vertical lines symbolizing the sacredness of the scene and using oblique lines in the figures of the disciples to show the minor commotion happening among the group. In Tintoretto’s painting, the artist made use largely of oblique lines that show movement in the scene. Other elements of the paintings such as the colors and value of the two paintings are also in contrast with each other; Da Vinci used colors of lighter value than that of Tintoretto’s Last Supper which in effect shows that the room was well lit by a natural light source from the wide windows. Tintoretto’s rendition used darker colors and low light suggesting that the scene occurred at night which provides a more forlorn feel as well. Other contrasting features in the two paintings are the ways the two artists depicted the scene as well as the depiction of characters. Da Vinci made his interpretation as pristine as possible and adhered on the details recorded in the Bible. His painting of what transpired on the eve of Christ’s death was much unmodified compared to Tintoretto, the scene however, seem to occur when there was still sunlight as can be observed at the windows at the back. The event according to Biblical accounts was supper which logically is after the sun has set. In Tintoretto’s interpretation of the scene, a more dramatic scenario can be seen. The food servers were not accounted by the Bible as well as the angels hovering over the table cannot also be found in the Biblical accounts about the last supper of Christ. The time setting, on the other hand, is more accurate compared to Da Vinci’s version since Tintoretto showed that the event happened at night. Looking closely at the manner of depiction of the characters in the last supper would also point out differences between the two interpretations of this important Biblical event. Da Vinci’s Christ as well as some of the disciples has long hair which is in contrast to what the Bible says in 1 Corinthians 11:14: “Does not nature itself teach you that if a man wears long hair it is a disgrace for him,” thus it is not accurate that Christ and some of his disciples grow their hair long. Tintoretto’s version of Christ is a little more accurate since it can be seen that none of the male characters in the painting had long hair. Tintoretto’s depiction of the characters however is not that precise as well because it was not mentioned that servants were present during that night nor any verbatim report on angels hovering over Christ and his disciples as they have their supper. Furthermore, there was no possibility that there were women present that evening because according to the apostle John, prior to supper Christ “laid aside his outer garments, and taking a towel, tied it around his waist.” (John 13:4) and rationally Christ, as a God and being a decent man, would not allow himself to be exposed in such a way when women are around. These differences in the depiction of the two artists of the last supper of Christ exhibit the different social, political and cultural background of Da Vinci and Tintoretto. Although both painters were Venetian painters, Da Vinci and Tintoretto adapted styles with dissimilarities which manifested in their respective renditions of the last supper. Da Vinci belonged to the High Renaissance period wherein composition of paintings was all about nature, balance and symmetry (Kleiner 582) while Tintoretto adapted the Mannerist style which appeared almost after the Late Renaissance period characterized by its elements of fantasy, unusual spaces and artifice (623) which deviates from the characteristics of High Renaissance art. The conflicting characteristics of the art styles adapted by the two painters of the Last Supper were mainly influenced by the political, social and cultural situations during that period. Political, social and cultural conditions during the High Renaissance were on the height of inclining towards classical or ancient ideas of the Greek and Roman civilizations (Kleiner 502). On the other hand, Tintoretto’s influences from Mannerism showed disparities from the classical ideologies as the art style departed from the equilibrium and classical feel of the High Renaissance demonstrating more dramatic and eccentric artistic interpretations (Bodart 108). Politically and socially, Mannerism was in a way a statement that the Papacy was unperturbed by the Protestant movements arising during the period and it affirmed the lingering power of the Medici family (108) although at some point the artworks became a parody (Kleiner 1033) of the existing political, social and cultural conditions at that time. At present, between the two versions of the Last Supper, Da Vinci’s is the more popular rendition as its impact manifested in the extensive use of this version in dining areas as wall pieces by some religious groups as well as becoming the focal point for the novel Da Vinci Code by Dan Brown. The inconsistencies that can be observed at a closer examination of Da Vinci’s painting had all gone unnoticed as the artwork became incorporated in tradition, culture and a symbol of religious beliefs for several countries. The realities behind what truly transpired during the eve of Christ’s death were unrevealed as other artists created other versions of the last supper and facts were even more mottled by the assumptions written by Dan Brown. Cited Works Bodart, Diane. Renaissance & Mannerism. New York: Sterling Publishing Company, Inc., 2008. Print. Canfield, Leon H. The early persecutions of the Christians. Clark: The Lawbook Exchange, Ltd., 2005. Print. Dyas, Dee and Esther Scott Hughes. The Bible in Western culture: the student's guide. New York: Routledge, 2005. Print. Kleiner, Fred. Gardner's art through the ages: a global history, Volume 2. Boston: Cengage Learning EMEA, 2008. Print. Nichols, Tom. Tintoretto: Tradition and Identity. London: Reaktion Books, 2004. Print. Spooner, S. A Biographical History of the Fine Arts. New York: Leopold & Holt, 1867. Print. Read More