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The Last Supper is a masterpiece because it used the language of the day. If we look at what people wore in the time of Jesus the clothes are obvious, and you can see it through the painting, too. The website Opposing Views points out “It was a voluminous sleeved tunic held in place around the waist by a rope, leather belt or cloth sash. Over that was draped a mantle or cloak, a square of cloth that served as a topcoat, blanket, and bedroll or even as collateral in a loan repayable by sunset. It was draped over one shoulder or both, depending on how much freedom of movement the wearer desired.“ People in the time of Jesus wore tunic, sash, and mantle. Just as you can see in the Last Supper painting, it’s easy to notice that Jesus and his disciples are wearing them. Additionally, the perspective of the Last Supper painting was based on men; da Vinci did not portray any women. In fact, “Thy husband is thy lord, thy life, thy keeper, Thy head, thy sovereign . . . Such duty as the subject owes the prince, Even such a woman oweth to her husband...”(The History of Female Oppression). During the Renaissance time, society viewed women as man’s helper. This term meant that, man was the lord of the women; the man was the head of the family and men ruled women. Society began to use this term because of Eve. Eve played a big role in the original sin. Due to this reason, men rule and control women. Society thinks that women’s duty was to serve men and obey them. That is why they were not included in the Last Supper painting.
The portrayal of Jesus and his disciple in the Last Supper shows the reflection of style in skin color. For example “People in western civilization are white; they imagine Jesus as being like themselves (or more probably, like the community they live in)” (Christianity). Based on what we know so far about Jesus’ geographic location, he was born in the Middle East. Based on his geographic location, he’s supposed to be a dark man. But the way Leonardo da Vinci portray him was far different than how he looks like. He portrays Jesus as a white man which in a sense he is not. Europeans are white; they wanted Jesus to look like them. If da Vinci would have portrayed Jesus as a black man or a darker man, it might have led into conflict because during this time period slavery was ubiquitous. It would have given black people more power. That’s why he did not portray Jesus as a dark man but as a white person.
Furthermore, “Jesus’ ethnicity, skin color, and culture often accompany this conversation, but few people are willing to acknowledge the fact he was non-European. A simple stroll down the Christmas aisle will show you the dominant depiction of Jesus: a blonde-haired, blue-eyed, white man” (Ma’an Agent News). This evidence proves that Jesus was non-European, but people portray him as a blonde-haired, blue-eyed, white man but that is not how he looks. Leonardo da Vinci was a European and when he was designing the painting, he wanted someone who looks like him or someone who looked like modern people at his time. He tried to fit Jesus’ ethnicity into the Europeans, as a man who looks like them. |
- “In fact, the figure in The Last Supper is not a woman: only the most partisan reading can place Mary Magdalene in the scene. Viewers in the fifteenth and sixteenth centuries would have read the painting quite differently."
- "Art historians disagree. They say it is John the Evangelist, who was the beloved disciple and often portrayed with feminine features."