Veronese and The Last Supper Flashcards
When?
Last Supper/Feast in the House of Levi, 1573
Censorship:
asked to alter the painting, changed the painting’s name instead
Size:
Measures 17’x39’- HUGE, covers a wall
The Last Supper- Artist’s Tradition
Other versions:
Giotto, Last Supper 1305
Duccio- Last Supper 1308-11. Where is Judas? Religious scholars believe Last Supper was in John the Evangelist’s home- he was the closer to Christ than other disciples. John looks young- ‘little brother’ to Christ.
Taddeo Gaddi, Last Supper 1360. Judas depicted as dark and swarthy, often. Judas seated on opposite side- makes gim easy to recognize.
Fra Angelico, Last Supper 1540. Judas: unclear location.
Where?
SS Giovanni e Paolo, Venice, Italy- Monastery. Veronese was to replace Titian’s Last Supper, 1557-64, destroyed in a fire. Monks looked at this while eating.
Other Veronese works:
Marriage Feast at Cana 1562-63. Likes to fill large compositions with people. Christ’s first miracle- Mary (Virgin) and Christ were at a wedding banquet, the wine runs out and he changes water to wine. There’s a detail of a seated woman cleaning her teeth with a fork!
Feast in the House of Simon, 1560s. Simon was a member of Phoresy- an ancient Jewish sect with traditional laws. Washing of feet@ Judas is criticizing use of oils to wash feet- it’s too valuable. Veronese is known for painting feasts. 1570-1572 another version of feet washing.
Feast of St. Gregory. piece right before Last Supper. Pope named Gregory celebrating Eucharist. Veronese thinks they want a piece similar to his other work.
Veronese, The Last Supper, 1573
Very different. More people, looks extravagant. Looks like Raphael’s School of Athens- architectural setting. Festive mood- most important tradition in Christendom. Christ is in the middle, on right is young John the Evangelist. Nobody can tell where Judas/other disciples are. 12 disciples are seated at the table.
There are 61 other figures: 2 birds, 2 dogs, 6 black pages (assistant/servant), 5 Muslims (turbaned) in a Christian composition! German soldiers- Germany: reformation! Negative. Dwarf with a parrot.
The Inquisition
A church committee that fights against heretics. They employed torture. Comprised of a combination of church and government officials. Different committees per location- some strict, some lenient.
Inquisition Interview:
Q: Why are there armed men dressed as German soldiers
A: They might be of service to master of House.
*It’s thought that German soldiers were staying at the Monastery and caused the fire that destroyed Titian’s Last Supper
Q: What is St. Peter doing?
A: Carving Lamb.
*Hidden message: faithful are being fleeced by the church (indulgences, tithing)
Q: Does it seem ok to pain buffoons, drunkards, etc. at the Supper?
A: No.
Venice
The Monastery was in Venice. The Monks were happy with the piece. Venice was a melting pot at the time. Far away from Rome. In contact with the Ottoman Empire- Venice has Muslims and International connections- crossroads between East and West. East: Ottoman Empire. Several groups were vying for ideological contronl- the Vatican doesn’t feel that Venice is loyal- they aren’t following strict church law. Venice is too liberal and open- Muslims live there!
Humanism
Church becomes less important as years move forward. Vatican feels like they’re losing control.
Venetian Inquisition
They need to clamp down without offending trading partners. The Vatican was threatening to excommunicate Venice. Censoring the painting was a tool to keep the Pope happy- they told Veronese he had 3 months to change it to ‘more’ of a Last Supper, at his expense. Veronese doesn’t want to defend it- he would risk jail time just for heresy. He says ‘buffoons’ aren’t sitting at the table with Christ. He didn’t make any changes. The Vatican likely got distracted, as they never followed up on this case. Veronese never did another large scale work.
Caravaggio, Calling of St. Michael
Book of Matthew
Current versions of Last Supper
Salvador Dali, Last Supper
Andy Warhol, Last Supper
Renee Cox, Yo Mama’s Last Supper. Cox is a photographer, she is pictured, nude. This is very current. Message of empowerment.
Damien Hirst, Last Supper of Beans and Chips.
Mrs. Buttersworth’s Last Supper
Artist’s tradition continued
Costagno, Last Supper 1445-50. John isolated and falling asleep.
Leonardo da Vinci, Last Supper 1495. Radical at the time. Goes back to earlier tradition of including Judas on same side of tables- acknowledges that we are all capable of sinning- emphasizes humanity.
Andrea del Sarto, Last Supper 1526. More traditional.
Tintoretto, Last Supper 1559. predates Veronese. Chairs knocked over.
Tintoretto, Last Supper 1592. Lots of extraneous figures. Inspired by Veronese- artistic license
