A large group of men sitting at a table, doesn’t seem like it could hold significant meaning. This is something that took place all throughout history and still takes place fairly often in today’s world. However, “The Last Supper,” by Leonardo da Vinci is a beautiful illustration of Jesus’ last meal with the twelve disciples before his crucifixion. We are able to analyze da Vinci’s painting from many different aspects including iconic, contextual, and formal points of view. This representational work of art holds a strong symbolism as its historic and religious contexts are displayed formally though oil and tempera on plaster. Leonardo da Vinci took interest in many subjects far beyond art, which explains his various genres of painting, yet
…show more content…
People have hypothesised that they painting captures the moment Jesus tells his disciples that one of them is about to betray him. Jesus Christ, the focal point of this masterpiece which will be discussed later, is in the shape of a triangle. This is symbolic because in the Christian religion, Christ is known as part of the trinity: the father, the son, and the holy spirit. Christians believe that God is all three of those people all in one and is represented by a triangle, as a triangle has three points. Jesus has his arms outstretched as two points and the last point is his head. Also another common number of three appear throughout the painting as three windows appear in the background and the apostles are in groups of three. Judas also holds a strong symbolic role in this piece as he is separated from all the eleven shocked disciples in the piece. Jesus speaks of a man during the freeze frame time in the artwork of a man who will betray him; spoiler alert. As Jesus speaks of this news, Judas is seen holding a small bag which symbolizes “the 30 pieces of silver he has been paid to betray Jesus” (“Interpretation”). He also has knocked over a pot of salt which is a symbol of betrayal. Da Vinci takes, what seems to be, an unambiguous piece of religious art, however, when iconographically
People have hypothesised that they painting captures the moment Jesus tells his disciples that one of them is about to betray him. Jesus Christ, the focal point of this masterpiece which will be discussed later, is in the shape of a triangle. This is symbolic because in the Christian religion, Christ is known as part of the trinity: the father, the son, and the holy spirit. Christians believe that God is all three of those people all in one and is represented by a triangle, as a triangle has three points. Jesus has his arms outstretched as two points and the last point is his head. Also another common number of three appear throughout the painting as three windows appear in the background and the apostles are in groups of three. Judas also holds a strong symbolic role in this piece as he is separated from all the eleven shocked disciples in the piece. Jesus speaks of a man during the freeze frame time in the artwork of a man who will betray him; spoiler alert. As Jesus speaks of this news, Judas is seen holding a small bag which symbolizes “the 30 pieces of silver he has been paid to betray Jesus” (“Interpretation”). He also has knocked over a pot of salt which is a symbol of betrayal. Da Vinci takes, what seems to be, an unambiguous piece of religious art, however, when iconographically