The Last Supper Analysis Essay

The Purpose of the paintings of the “Last Supper,” by Ugolino di Nerio and Leonardo da Vinci, were to portray the betrayal of Jesus Christ by of one the twelve apostles, as they are having the last meal. Jesus Christ mentions to his apostles that there is going to be a betrayal amongst them. All twelve apostles had mixed feelings of anger, fear, and surprised. Later on, it turns out that Judas, one of the twelve apostles, had told the authorities about Jesus so he can be arrested then later crucified. The paintings show a dramatic scene after the claim by Jesus Christ. The paintings give us insight to get the reader interested in the painting of “The Last Supper,” how the cultures that produced those paintings change the way we paint today, and how both paintings influenced the Renaissance era.

During the 16th century, Protestantism emerged as a new sect of Christianity. This process was not calm or peaceful in the slightest. Protestant leaders like Martin Luther and John Calvin fiercely attacked and denied traditional Catholic beliefs, causing much controversy and debate upon religion. Many regions of Europe as a whole were converted to Protestantism, and many more Protestants emerged in areas where Catholicism remained the state religion. The Catholic faith became less and less appealing to people as the abuses of the clergy were now publicly addressed by reformers and a new, personal approach to religion was offered in Protestantism. In addition, rulers favored Protestantism as a state religion because it meant that no power

The Last Supper by Leonardo is very different to Tintoretto’s representation of the same incident. The last supper is one of the most important occurrences which took place in the Christian religion such an important event that many have seen the need for the event visually recorded through art the two most famous of these representations are by far Tintoretto’s and Leonardo’s works. The Last Supper by Leonardo was created during the renaissance period and is a simple symbolic work with little emotion. Tintoretto however chose to represent the event in a surrealistic manner to give full impact; A way in which was typical of the art period in which he painted the work, the

Aside from linear perspective, Calabrese incorporates other geometrical forms throughout the composition. One is the circle at the foreground of the painting, which Calabrese offers the audience to complete. More outstanding is the triangle that occupies the majority of the space. John’s body, parallel to his staff, begs the viewer to trace the triangle from his eyes, across the woman and the lamb in the foreground, up the staff, and through to his hand. This triangle is significant in its symbolism of the Holy Trinity: God the Father, God the Holy Spirit, and God the Son. The message here is clear; through Jesus, the lamb, one will be saved. It is also interesting that Calabrese places John between the lamb and his hand. It coincides with the paintings’ function as an altar piece in that John serves as an intercessor to the Divine. Through him, one has access to Jesus, and therefore God. The geometrical lines and shapes add to the painting’s dynamism and contribute to the optimistic promise the painting conveys.

Christians have been celebrating the Lord’s Supper for almost two thousand years. In this paper I will refer to the Lord’s Supper as an ordinance of the church. “An ordinance is an outward rite prescribed by Christ to be performed by His Church.” There are quite a few varying interpretations among the different churches on how the Lord’s Supper is to be practiced. I Corinthians 11:23-34 provides Christians with the scriptural meaning and reasons for observing the Lord’s Supper, also known as communion. Many consider the Lord’s Supper of little or no value and some consider the ordinance as more of a ritual. In some modern churches, preaching the Word is emphasized the most and communion is only observed once a month or

Over the past years of my life I have seen many changes, some for the good and others not as good. Change can be demanding and also crucial. The early believers would encounter this. One can see that significant change happened, when reading through the gospels and the book of acts it is obvious to the reader that the believers who followed Jesus would never be the same again.

The Last Temptation of Christ, was released in 1988, starring Willem Dafoe as Jesus of Nazareth. The film caused controversy amongst Christian’s for it’s contentious representation of Jesus Christ. In the opening scene, Willem Dafoe is seen in a foetal position, whilst hearing disturbing sounds, from a high angle looking down on him, exposing his vulnerability. Jesus in the Last Temptation of Christ, built crosses for the Roman Empire, in order for the crucifixion of the Jewish. Judas barges into Jesus' home, which they have a debate on the activities, Jesus partakes in. Through the debacle, Jesus is portrayed as a coward through the use of high angles, and low angles of Judas, blatantly calls Jesus a "disgrace" and a "Jew killing Jews". This representation of Jesus challenged the Christian subculture's values and beliefs. In the eyes of a Christian, Jesus is represented as a virgin with no sin, who has the mission to help the undesirables. The alternate reading of the film was decoded by Christians in a negative light as they classified the film as sacrilegious, viewing the film as a mockery of the life of Jesus as the two characters juxtapose one another. In traditional images and drawings, Jesus is characterised as having power and influence over others. A character, the illustration of the nativity scene has emphasised the humility of Jesus and promoted a more tender image of him, as a major turning point from the early "Lord and Master”. These attitudes towards Jesus and conservative values are challenged in LTOC. Through the film, it is evident that Jesus has internal conflict and a symbol of violence, when returning from the desert, Jesus, meets with his disciples and holds up an axe, inviting them to war, saying “I believed in love now I believe in this”. This representation disturbed Christians, as it has distorted their image of Jesus, as a merciful and gentle being. The Last Temptation of Christ represents the conservative values of Christians, as they caused controversy. Angry Christians took to the streets to make a change, calling for protests and boycotts. A harsher censorship was wanted, to prevent the movie to be seen from a larger audience. The film was banned in many countries, such as;

“Last supper?” A question I pondered as I viewed this magnificent painting by Veronese for the first time. Jesus Christ in the center of the painting sitting behind a table with his apostles just like The Last Supper by Leonardo Da Vinci. Big difference between both paintings Veronese feels more active compared to Leonardo’s his painting feels more peaceful not many figures to take away the attention of Jesus and his apostles. Background plays a major role, Buildings and houses spread across the painting. The color of the painting he decided to use for the background was a little different compared to the colors that are being used in the front of the painting. One of the main figures that caught my eye was the dog right in the center as if he was looking back at Jesus Christ. Dwarves right in front of the painting as if they were trying to hide from someone.

[1] Before I start this essay, I feel the need to remind the reader that I find slavery in all its forms to be an oppressive and terrible institution, and I firmly believe that for centuries (including this one) bigotry is one of the most terrible stains on our civilization. The views I intend to express in the following essay are in no way meant to condone the practices of slavery or racism; they are meant only to evaluate and interpret the construction of slavery in film.

Comparatively, Andrea del Castagno’s Last Supper is early Renaissance completed far in advance of Da Vinci’s rendition. As one of four works commissioned by the Medici family, this mural rests inside the refectory of a former convent Cenacolo de Sant’Apollonia (Kren & Marx, n.d.; Editors Encyclopedia Britannica, 2013). The stone wall assists in dividing the expressions of the disciples in two’s following the news of betrayal (Adams, p.126; Editors Encyclopedia Britannica, 2012). Castagno’s mural is complete with his own view of linear perspective, utilizing the architectural details for movement (Editors Encyclopedia Britannica, 2013; Kren & Marx, n.d). The viewer can see Masaccio’s influence of “pictorial illusion” in the composition in addition to the bright disk like halos seen in his other works (Editors Encyclopedia Britannica, 2013; Kren & Marx, n.d.). Each of the figures in this composition takes up its own space, with the exception of Christ who much like Da Vinci, uses him as the anchor completing the perspective. The space on either of Christ side makes for a dramatic effect, while the lines, tiles and artistic detail frame the scene. Each individual in the mural occupies its own space, unlike that of Da Vinci who incorporated the overlap of the figures gestures for dramatic effect and movement (Last Supper, 2017). The overall composition is balanced, Castagno’s placement of each individual on the opposite side of the table across from Christ completes the geometric triangle seen in early Renaissance works (Editors Encyclopedia Britannica,

More than simple geometric composition style and use of linear perspective, The Last Supper reflects Da Vinci’s skills in conveying emotions through gestures

“The Last Supper,” by Leonardo da Vinci, is a mural painting created during the Italian High Renaissance movement in the Santa Maria delle Grazie monastery. Leonardo da Vinci is a world renowned artist who is also known for his other painting the “Mona Lisa”. Additionally, he was a prolific inventor that created things that were well before his time; such as, blue prints for a helicopter and parachute. “The Last Supper” is one of the most famous works of Christian art and it displays the moment Jesus Christ declares that one of his twelve apostles will betray him. Jesus Christ is located in the middle of the table surrounded by his twelve apostles who are split up into groups of three. The painting illustrates the emotional reaction of each of the apostles as they discuss who will betray Jesus. Positioning of characters and contrasting colors are used in “The Last Supper” to depict that Judas was the apostle that was scheming to betray Jesus Christ.

Leonardo used oil and tempera on the wall of plaster. This short cut in color technique was a failure. The work was soon ruined do to moisture soaking into it (Gillet, n.d.). There are many artists who painted the Last Supperl. Leonardo chose the moment that Christ announces that there is a traitor among them for his painting. Leonardo divides the apostles into two groups of three on both sides of Christ. This leaves Christ as the focal point in the picture. He expresses several different convictions seen in the faces of the apostles such as; sorrow, indignation, and denial. The ceiling is in his usual perspective style, it appears to go far beyond the wall it is painted on (Kleiner, 2010).

The Last Supper is a mural painted Leonardo da Vinci. He was considered a “Renaissance Man.” Leonard da Vinci was born in 1452 in a village a few miles from Vinci, Italy. His father, Piero da Vinci was a Florentine notary and his mother was believed to be a peasant woman named Caterina. Leonardo da Vinci did not have much formal training outside of reading, writing, and math. At the age of 14, Leonardo da Vinci became an apprentice to the artist Verrocchio. He learned metal work, leather arts, carpentry, drawing, and sculpting. This set the tone for the many contributions that Leonard da Vinci would make to the World of Art. The Renaissance time period was considered a time period where new painting, sculpting and architecture techniques were invented. Leonardo da Vinci was one of the prevalent artist to contribute to this. During the Renaissance period, artist often used religious figures such as Christ, Madonna, and the Virgin Mary in their sculptured and paintings. Leonardo da Vinci created many works of art including The Madonna and Child, The Last Supper, The Mona Lisa, The Vitruvian Man to name a few. Very few of his painting were completed, as he was known to focus on other things such as nature, dissecting bodies, scientific laws, and writing about his observations (History). Leonardo da Vinci was also known for developing concepts for the helicopter, tank, and the

Although relatively few of da Vinci’s paintings and sculptures survive, two of his extant works are among the world’s most well-known and admired paintings. The first is da Vinci’s “The Last Supper,” painted during his time in Milan, from about 1495 to 1498. A oil mural on plaster, “The Last Supper” was created for the city’s Monastery of Santa Maria delle Grazie. Also known as “The Cenacle,” this work measures about 15 by 29 feet and is the artist’s only surviving