Brett Mendelson
Rhetorical Situation Analysis
Professor Vander Zee
3-12-24
The Last Supper
The piece that I have selected to analyze is Leonardo Da Vinci’s “The Last Supper”. This seemingly simple depiction of a scene from the Bible has layers far beyond what appears at the first glance. This piece was commissioned by the Duke of Milan in the late 1400’s for the room where the priests would eat. The Duke thought it fitting to have a painting depicting Jesus’ last supper with his disciples in the priests’ dining quarters. There are many important details that add more to this incredible artwork, and why I believe it is Da Vinci’s finest work
The Last Supper is an incredibly important moment in the bible, as it is the moment where Jesus announces that one of his disciples will betray him. While there are 12 disciples shown in the painting, there are three that require a much deeper analysis than the rest. Seated directly at Jesus’ right hand is a trio of John the Baptist, Judas, and Peter, in order of proximity to Jesus. All three of these disciples play an incredibly important role in this scene, and are all worthy of their own analysis themselves.
Seated directly at Jesus’ right hand is John the Baptist. John is regarded as one of Jesus’ favorite disciples, so it stands to reason that he holds a highly important role in his depiction in this work. Firstly, his placement directly at the right hand of Jesus signifies his importance, as being in the “right hand of the Father” is a commonly referenced position in the bible. John is juxtaposed with Jesus, forming a perfect “V” with the sharp angles they are sitting at. The “V” is known as a feminine symbol representing womanhood and fertility, and this is likely a call to how Jesus was born to a virgin mother. John is the youngest disciple, and in order to easily recognize him Da Vinci painted him with very soft and feminine features, which sparked debate over if this character was meant to be a woman. This theory has generally been disproved however, as other works of the time show that this was a common way to paint young men. It is also likely that Da Vinci wanted John to be the most recognizable of the disciples, so he painted him in a way that would stand out.
Sitting at the edge of these three is the disciple Peter. Peter is known to be short tempered, and his pose depicts this perfectly. He is ready to jump out of his chair and has his hand positioned like a weapon and is seemingly pointing it in the direction of John. I believe this is because Peter was jealous of John, and wanted to be in his seat as Jesus’ favorite. Peter’s other hand tells a different story. There is much debate over where Peter’s right hand is located in this painting, and that’s because there are two possible options. There is one hand that seems to be Peter’s, a continuation of the color garment he is wearing and a reasonable position for a human hand to be held in, however, there is another hand shown in the same area. Behind Judas, there is a floating hand holding a dagger pointed to the left, a sign of evil. Peter used a dagger to attack a Roman soldier that arrested Jesus, so this being that dagger is a likely possibility, except for one issue. Da Vinci is a genius of anatomy. His understanding of the human body rivals any artist in history, yet this hand just doesn’t fit with anyone. The angle it is held at is impossible for a human arm to bend at, and if you count the arms there is undeniably an extra hand. To me, this dagger represents Judas’ betrayal, and how he will be known for stabbing Jesus in the back.
Seated between John and Peter is the traitor, Judas. He is reclined at the same angle as John, but for a completely different reason. Whereas John is trying to ascertain information from Peter, Judas is recoiling in shock. He never believed that Jesus would become aware of his plans, much less announce them in front of all the disciples. As is true with the floating hand placed behind Judas, hands are incredibly important to all of Da Vinci’s work. With his left hand, Judas is reaching for the bread of the Eucharist. The left hand representing evil is reaching out to touch the pure body of Jesus. In his right hand you can see a small bag. Judas was paid 30 silver pieces by the Romans to give up Jesus’ identity and location, and those bags are the type of coin purses being carried around in the era. Judas is depicted on a different level than everyone else at the table as well. While everyone else is holding their heads high, Judas is positioned with his head far below everyone else. His face is obscured by darkness, and he realizes that his plant will not go as smoothly as anticipated.
There are many small details strewn throughout the painting that add incredibly important pieces of information to the final artwork. There is a misconception that this painting depicts the “Holy Grail”, and that this painting was integral to discovering the chalice that was said to bring miracles to whoever possessed it. However, if you look closely at the painting, you see that there is no chalice depicted whatsoever. Jesus was a carpenter, and having a chalice covered in gold and jewels would be very out of place with the rest of their possessions. Instead, every person seated at the table has a small glass with red wine in it, the wine that would become the Blood of Christ. This is far more accurate to the time period, however in the name of art Da Vinci had to upgrade the cups from their usual material. In the years Jesus walked the earth, glass was something only the ultra wealthy could afford, so their cups would most likely be made of wood. However, due to the fact that Da Vinci found it more important to paint the contents of the glasses than their historically accurate material, Jesus and his disciples drank out of glass. Jesus himself does not have a glass himself, however. This is because He poured the wine for the disciples to drink as his blood, and He has no need to drink his own blood to affirm himself. Another unique trait of this specific painting is the lack of halos around the heads of Jesus and the disciples. In almost every single depiction of any figure in this painting they are shown with a halo over their heads, representing sainthood. Da Vinci believed the fact that Jesus was a mortal man who walked amongst other mortal men was important, and decided that they should be depicted as ordinary people.
“The Last Supper” has many traits that set it apart from all other works as my personal favorite. I believe that the depth behind every single detail exceeds any other, and the work itself is of the utmost quality. Da Vinci didn’t care what others thought of his works, or what the works were commissioned for. This piece was to be hung in a glorified dining hall, yet he still decided to add all these miniscule details that culminate in one of the greatest artistic creations of all time. Da Vinci’s understanding of history, art, character, and humanity far exceed all others, and is extremely relevant whenever you look at any of his works
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