Last supper

Last Supper
Last Supper, Tintoretto, 1592–94
BY NAYOUNG KWON

The roughness of the brush strokes and his dark color choices always gives me the chill whenever I look at his work. Tintoretto was his name and he was one of many painters that have influenced the world of art by sharing new ideas and techniques. Tintoretto has always been competitive and eager to become the best artist out of everyone.

Last Supper, which was the painting that was completed a few years before his death, became incredibly well known out of his other Last Supper series. With complex but flowing compositions and dim color choices, it feels as if each individuals are constantly moving.

Tintoretto experimented compositions and focused on individualization. People in his painting were dramatic and full of emotions just as if it was happening at the moment, just like Last Supper which feels crowded but at the same time pleasing to the eye. However, as time passed by Tintoretto's style takes a huge turn, mainly in color choices. His paintings began bright and silky but as he's eyesight slowly faded away, the colors became dark and dull. Although his colors have dimmed, the expressions and its intriguing composition never failed to impress people.  
  • 7:00 AM

Last Supper

Isabel Thomas
Tintoretto, Last Supper, 1592-1594

Last Supper by Tintoretto is my favorite work in Art History so far. Tintoretto’s colors envelop observers and bring them into another realm, stuck somewhere between Earth and Heaven, between Jesus raising Lazarus from the dead and the Messiah’s own Resurrection. Last Supper displays Tintoretto’s mastery of light and dark and his rich color use.

As the only two sources of light in this painting, Jesus and the lamp, which symbolizes the light of God, illuminate the scene and enlighten Jesus' guests. Tintoretto created wax models and observed them from different angles to ameliorate his use of light in this painting. Like other artists of this time and Mannerist painters, Tintoretto utilizes an extensive range of colors, and his tones create an eerie atmosphere without inducing uneasiness, especially in regard to the cloud-like spirits enclosing the work and its subjects.

Tintoretto reinvents a frequently-painted Biblical story by showing Jesus and his disciples not head-on, but from a diagonal viewpoint. This opens up the picture to include what happened behind the scenes. Tintoretto recounts the full story with servants who prepare this meal, clean it up, and allow it to take place.

This painting has no clear vanishing point. The diagonal lines seem to continue on into the remainder of Jesus’ life and his impact on the world for millennia to come. Judas sits on the opposite side of the table, as in usual depictions of this event, to symbolize his betrayal of Christ. This painting of the Last Supper looks the least arranged and most natural, with Jesus and his disciples actually interacting.

Tintoretto brought out the humanity of the Last Supper in his painting by making it more realistic and by bringing it into an environment more relatable to his audience. The aesthetic appeal of this painting allows me to escape from the stress and pace of life into this ethereal setting. Tintoretto used color inventively in Last Supper and set himself apart by testing boundaries. This painting’s ability to simultaneously calm and inspire creates an indescribable feeling for me and reaffirms my interest in the study of Art History.


  • 7:00 AM

Da Vinci's Last Supper and Baxandall

Last Supper
Da Vinci, The Last Supper, 1498

In the 15th century, an increasing amount of attention was being placed upon figures. The motion and biology of figures was considered just as important as the color and placement. While quality of materials was previously of more emphasis, this shift meant artists needed more skill to create works, rather than just expensive materials. In terms of anatomy, Da Vinci was the best. Da Vinci's expansive study of the anatomy of the human body gave him the ability to paint the realistic figures seen in his painting, The Last Supper. Da Vinci's study allowed him to paint complicated and lively scenes without sacrificing proportion. Clients, however, still wanted the figures to lively and realistic without sacrificing movement.

The people on either side of Jesus from two distinct groups, while Jesus takes up the middle. This division of the painting into three parts adds motion to the figures, called "aria" by Baxandall. The use of placement to convey movement adds life to the painting, without destroying its monumentalist take on the religious story. Da Vinci's talent for this made him perfect for religious paintings like this one.

  • 7:00 AM

The Last Supper

1592
Tintoretto, Last Supper, 1592-94 

Out of a selected handful of the famous "Last Supper" paintings, Tintoretto seems to paint the gloomiest one. From the biblical story, the Last Supper, despite the rather despondent outcome of the dinner, usually portrays a scene of hope and optimism, for though Jesus must leave, he leaves behind a world that has changed for the better.

Tintoretto takes that perspective and throws it back in the viewer's face. Perhaps he was bullied as a young child - his last name just begs for mocking - or perhaps he's just a brooding hipster of the late 16th century. Either way, unlike the other famous Last Supper paintings, such as Da Vinci's, Tintoretto portrays this final scene in one of chaos, greed, ignorance, and most of all, pessimism. Not only does he completely revamp the aura of the painting, the characters he includes in it are vastly different as well. In other, classic Last Supper paintings, the twelve apostles sit in reserved and mannered ways, as they carefully keep their eyes trained on the main figure, Jesus Christ. However, in this version, though the viewer's eyes are immediately drawn to the brightest Jesus in the background center, no one else is. All the characters make conversation with each other or stare uncaringly at the ever-so-fascinating mystery item in Christ's hand. There's not a single man or woman that seems to mind that in only minutes later will this holy man be taken away, or the fact that there seem to be wispy, wandering souls just floating in the air. No big deal.

The darkness that envelopes the room is so heavy and powerful that even the burning light and Jesus's own luster cannot seem to dispel it. It's suffocating and pressuring, the obvious symbolism present. Compared to other versions of the scene, the dankness of the room seems to represent sins of every type. Purity does not exist in this painting, besides for Jesus. The indifferent looks on the apostles with one man even bored enough to prop his head up with one hand displays the leaking power of religion.

Tintoretto's rendition therefore brings various criticisms and some unhappy viewers. An outraged cry thrown at him is the fact that the number of apostles at the scene isn't clear. And you can't count. Though undoubtedly a bit more obscure than others, Tintoretto still depicts twelve apostles with the faint glowing halo behind their heads. If one uses both hands and one foot, he or she can easily determine that there are indeed twelve men with faint halos behind them in this painting. Congrats on passing kindergarden math.

Others claim the work lacks realism. Oh really. Does it really lack common sense? Thanks for pointing it out because clearly I missed that while I looked at this. It does miss some realism, perhaps when compared to other paintings of the Mannerism era, but perhaps this was purposeful. Sure these apostles that ignore Jesus have bland and impersonal characteristics, but they're supposed to represent the people, the lower class, or even the society as a whole. But one cannot absolutely label this painting as one that lacks realism for in the foreground the outfit of the servers or even the setting as a whole has a beautiful, realistic and detailed aspect to it.

Despite all the faults people can find, this painting still brings a different perspective to a normally bright and optimistic scene. Though poor hipster Tintoretto still gets bashed, now viewers can undoubtedly appreciate the truthful portrayal of the heart of darkness in each human being.


  • 12:15 AM

The Last Supper and Catch-22

Brennan DePew
Sebastiano Ricci, The Last Supper, 1713/1714

"Will you speak up, please? I still couldn't hear you."
"Yes, sir. I said that I didn't say that you couldn't punish me."
"Just what the hell are you talking about?"
"I'm answering your question, sir."
"What question?"
" 'Just what the hell did you mean, you bastard, when you said we couldn't punish you?' " said the corporal who could take shorthand, reading from his steno pad.
"All right," said the colonel. "Just what the hell did you mean?"
"I didn't say you couldn't punish me, sir."
"When?" asked the colonel.
"When what, sir?"
"Now you're asking me questions again."
"I'm sorry, sir. I'm afraid I don't understand your question."
"When didn't you say we couldn't punish you? Don't you understand my question?"
"No, sir. I don't understand."
"You've just told us that. Now suppose you answer my question."
"But how can I answer it?"
"That's another question you're asking me."
"I'm sorry, sir. But I don't understand how to answer it. I never said you couldn't punish me."
"Now you're telling us when you did say it. I'm asking you to tell us when you didn't say it."
Clevinger took a deep breath. "I always didn't say you couldn't punish me, sir."
"That's much better, Mr. Clevinger, even if it is a barefaced lie."
 - Joseph Heller, Catch-22

This passage from Heller's celebrated novel communicates a unique kind of discord associated with bureaucracy and government and leaders who have no idea how to lead. The confusion evident in the passage, and throughout the whole text, owes its existence such incompetence.

Ricci's vision of the ever-popular last supper displays a similar kind of chaos. Ricci offers a glimpse into the world of the elite, and in the realm of Christianity, who's more important than Christ and the twelve disciples? The painting feels different from other versions of the scene, like the peaceful breaking of the bread, or the intense accusation of Judas. Instead, Ricci has the disciples in a state of obvious confusion,  murmuring and discussing amongst themselves some alarming subject, and one disciple to Jesus' left has collapsed, exasperated or distressed, into the crook of his own arm. A chair has been overturned as another disciple (possibly Judas - note the tightly grasped money bag) makes a hasty escape. Jesus' eyes, when examined closely, appear to be crossed out with little black X's, suggesting that, despite his relatively calm appearance, he too cannot see the truth. Nevertheless, he still raises his finger as if to teach.

No one controls either situation, yet no one will admit how little they know. Each leader refuses to expose his confusion, even when doing so only furthers the chaos of each situation.

  • 8:00 AM