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The Biblical origin of the Eucharist can be placed in the context of Passover, the Jewish festival commemorating the Hebrews’ escape from Egypt (Book of Exodus). This celebration usually took place over seven days. It was during this festival that Jesus instituted the Eucharist: “Now on the first day of Unleavened Bread, when they killed the Passover lamb, His disciples said to Him, `Where do you want us to go and prepare, that you may eat the Passover'” (Mark 14:12, Matthew 26:7)
 
In his World Atlas of Wine, Hugh Johnson highlights the fact that many accounts confirm the influence of the cult of Bacchus: “Bacchus-Dionysus was already considered a saviour – to rise from the dead was normal for the old gods, while to eat a god’s body and drink his blood (represented by wine) was a familiar concept to the Ancient Greeks who believed in the myth of Orpheus. The grape, to the Ancient Greeks an attribute of Dionysus, was to become a symbol of the blood of Christ for the Eucharist.”

 

There is an incalculable number of depictions of the Last Supper. Will they end up seeming banal to us? We have chosen to comment on several works which stand out from the rest.

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9.  Bouts has chosen the moment where Christ blesses the bread and wine. By this gesture, he institutes the Eucharist. The traitor Judas, in the foreground on the left, is treated as an unremarkable silent witness – something fairly rare in representations of this character.
 
 

15. Seuls neuf des douze apôtres sont présents. C'est probablement dû au vandalisme dont le panneau en bois de cette peinture a été la victime lors des émeutes iconoclastes de la Réforme à Bâle : la tête du Christ avait alors été sciée.

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17. With Luther among the Apostles.

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18. Le fils de Cranach l'Ancien représente les Réformateurs comme des Apôtres lors de la dernière Cène : Luther est dans l'angle arrière gauche, Melanchthon [son disciple] à droite à côté du Christ.

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19. This famous work by Veronese is an immense canvas measuring 13 meters in length. It represents Christ surrounded by a group of individuals who are not mentioned in the Gospels. The Last Supper takes place not in a Palestinian inn, as in the Bible, but in a rich palace with Classical architecture, probably inspired by one of those designed by Palladio. As in The Marriage at Cana, Veronese stays true to his mocking, bawdy and pagan artistic identity. The painting’s basic theme is that of ‘The Last Supper’. Veronese painted this scene at the request of the Dominican monks of Santi Giovanni e Paoli. However, his very particular approach to the subject aroused the suspicions of the Prior of the monastery, who reported Veronese to the Inquisition. He was accused of impiety by the Tribunal of the Holy Office for having placed The Last Supper in a setting where drinkers, dwarves, black people and animals circulate – an atmosphere deemed ‘profane’. The artist responded to the judges, who questioned the bustling scene and numerous characters represented: “if there is space on the canvas, I’ll fill it with as many figures as my patrons, and my imagination, want.” Ordered to alter the work to fit the religious ‘good taste’ of the Inquisition, Veronese pointedly did nothing, merely changing the title of the painting. The Last Supper became the Feast in the House of Levi – the new title drawn from an episode in the Gospel according to Luke (Luke 5: 29-32), in which Levi (the Hebrew name of the apostle Matthew) gave a great feast in his house. Levi’s guests were invited to partake of the celebration in good company, for the love of God. An ingenious way for the artist to mock his censors!
 

 

22. The church of Saint-François-Xavier in Paris, consecrated in 1894, is home to a magnificent but little-known work by Tintoretto: The Last Supper, painted in 1559. It was commissioned by the Scuola du Saint-Sacrement of the Church of Saint Felix, in Venice. Stolen during the Napoleonic era, it was sold in France. The Baroness of Teil donated it to the Parish of Saint-François-Xavier. In the image, Jesus has just announced that one of his disciples is about to betray him. The disciples stare at each other, shocked and suspicious, wondering who will be the culprit. Tintoretto places Judas in the foreground, opposite Christ. He hides behind his back the payment given to him by Jesus’ soon-to-be captors.

See 24, The Last Supper, also by Tintoretto, finished 35 years later, two weeks before his death.

 

27. Poussin was one of few painters to combine in a single work the two most important moments of the Last Supper: the announcement of the treason of one of the disciples, and Christ’s institution of the Eucharist. Judas seems to be shown slipping away from the supper unnoticed; in the Gospels, it is not clear if he stayed until the end of the Passover meal. Saint Augustin, of whom Poussin was a follower, supported the Gospel according to John above the three other versions of the story; in this version, Judas indeed leaves the room. Poussin demonstrates a certain contextual rigor by presenting the disciples lying down on divans in the semisdraiati position (normal feasting behavior in the Roman period), rather than in a more contemporary setting and position, as was usually the case for biblical (and mythological) scenes.

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31. The apostles are grouped round a table, agitated and turbulent, some leaning back, some forwards. The scene appears agitated and turbulent. Alarm over the predicted betrayal is evident. Only John, beside Jesus, sleeps through the turmoil. Opposite them sits Judas, looking out of the picture with a challenge in his eyes, as he hides the bag with the thirty pieces of silver behind his back.