It is widely believed that Da Vinci based The Last Supper on the moment that Christ reveals that one of his disciples would betray him.I would like to disagree. Da Vinci was a genius and his brilliance can be seen from the fact that he was able to implant many chapters of the Bible into a single image.
GOSPEL OF MATTHEW 20: 20-23
The Request of James and John
¶ Then
came to him the mother of Zebedee’s children with her
sons, worshipping him, and desiring a certain thing of him.
And he said unto her, What wilt thou ? She saith unto him, Grant
that these my two sons may sit, the one on thy right hand, and the
other on the left, in thy kingdom.
But Jesus answered and said, Ye know not what ye ask. Are ye able
to drink of the cup that I shall drink of, and to be baptized with
the
baptism that I am baptized with ? They say unto him, We are able.
And he saith unto them, Ye shall drink indeed of my cup, and be
baptized with the baptism that I am baptized with : but to sit on
my
right hand, and on my left, is not mine to give, but it shall be given to
them for whom it is prepared of my Father.
Every artist
has an inner urge. A feeling deep within which wants him to play God. This
passion can motivate him, for every artist is a Creator. Da Vinci has given
voice to this very feeling through his portrayal of The Last Supper. Here he
got an opportunity to play God.
Look to the
left and right of Christ. As Christ sits in his glory, the two sons of Zebedee,
John and James, sit to his left and right. This was a wish only the ‘Father’
could grant. By placing John to the right and James to the left, he showed that
Christ had indeed fulfilled the mother’s request. This is just one reason why
the beloved disciple must be John. The next reason is for those who love codes.
J & T
Let us come
to the question that I had asked in my previous post, the question of the J and
the T. Where is it? For those who spotted the thin V shape and the letter M in
the painting, this is surely a piece of cake. While M and V are merely outlines
formed by Jesus and the beloved disciple, the J and T are writings on the wall.
As though, Da Vinci wanted us to see it clearly. You cannot ignore the writing
on the wall (or so they say). Note that Da Vinci ruined the symmetry of the
painting to form these letters.
So what does
these letters stand for? Think of the letter J and the first word that comes to
your mind is Jesus. But then there is no need to ear mark Jesus. After all, he
is the central figure of the painting and everyone would recognize him. So it
has to be one of the disciples. There are five disciples whose names start with
J- Judas Iscariot, Jude Thaddeus, James(son of Alphaeus) and the sons of
Zebedee (John and James). And since there is no question (or controversy)
regarding the identity of the other disciples, it leaves us with only one
choice- John.
Some may ask
on what basis I concluded that the J stands for the name of the disciple below
the letter. It could stand for a word. That’s where the T comes into play. Look
under the letter T. Who do you see? Though James occupies the place next to
Jesus, a disciple has extended his head so that he is right under the letter T. Who is this disciple? The raised finger is a clear indication.
GOSPEL OF JOHN 20: 24-25
The Unbelief of Thomas
But Thomas, one of the twelve, called Didymus, was not with
them when Jesus came.
The other disciples therefore said unto him, We have seen the Lord.
But he said unto them, Except I shall see in his hands the print of
the nails, and put my finger into the print of the nails, and thrust
my hand into his side, I will not believe.
Yes, the disciple is none other than St. Thomas, spelt with a capital T. A
coincidence perhaps?
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