LAST SUPPER, ICONOGRAPHY OF

Symbolic representations of the Last Supper appear in the earliest Christian art. Aside from these, the iconography of the Last Supper usually takes the form of one of three scenes: the washing of the feet of the Apostles; the discovery of the treachery of Judas; and the Communion of the Apostles.

Symbolic Representations. Until the Edict of Milan (313), virtually all references to the New Testament in the art of the catacombs are symbolic. Representations of the Last Supper, however, are unusually abundant in the catacomb of St. Callisto, Rome (early 3d century). The fish and bread are shown together, sometimes filling a tripod. During this period, in the same underground cemetery, seven places provided with bread and fish are shown spaced out around the table. It is, on the one hand, an exact recollection of the refrigerium or funerary meal and, on the other, a reference to the Eucharist, though not to the Last Supper. In the famous Greek chapel of the Roman catacomb of Priscilla, one of the guests is already shown (c. 150; see agape) making the gesture of fractio panis ; the figure, however, is not to be interpreted as that of Christ. As soon as the Church attained its freedom, references to the Last Supper become more explicit. In a colonnaded sarcophagus (350–380; Musée Lapidaire Chrétien, Arles), Christ is in the midst of six Apostles, the two closest of whom offer him bread and fish. The symbolic articles survived beyond the art of the catacombs. In Rome on the bas-relief of the door of S. Sabina (c. 425–430) Christ is represented twice. In the upper part He is shown blessing seven baskets of bread, and in the lower portion, He is blessing seven pitchers of wine.

The Washing of the Feet. The first of the three scenes (Jn 13.1–17) is very important, since it prefigures the Sacrament of Penance and appropriately precedes that of the Eucharist, or Communion. This purification of the Apostles, sometimes referred to as the "Baptism of the Apostles," constituted a theme that was perfect for the decoration of lavabos in the sacristy and the cloister (1705, wood lavabo by Giovanni Giuliani; Cistercian Abbey, Heiligenkreuz). In this scene, Christ remains standing in Byzantine art (6th-century evangeliary, arch-bishop's residence, Rossano; 11th-century mosaic, Daphni), whereas in Western art he customarily kneels before Peter (12th-century cloister capital, Moissac; façade relief, St.-Gilles-du-Gard). Though the washing of the feet has never been a very popular scene in Christian iconography, nevertheless it persisted long after the Council of Trent. Later representations include those of Claude Vignon (1653, Nantes Museum), Jean-Honoré Fragonard (1754, cathedral of Grasse), and Ford Madox Brown (1852; Tate Gallery, London).

The Treachery of Judas. The discovery of the treachery of Judas has been widely represented in Western art. It permitted, in every case, the most incisive psychological study and the most dramatic setting (1495–97; fresco by Leonardo da Vinci, S. Maria delle Grazie, Milan). A few rare examples show Christ and his disciples standing (late 13th century; central tympanum, west façade, cathedral of Strasbourg). In the art of the first millennium of our era, the C-shaped table perpetuated the memory of the Roman triclinium (520–530, mosaic, San Apollinare Nuovo, Ravenna; 6th-century evangeliary, Rossano). This arrangement of the triclinium does not reappear until much later, under the influence of archeological preoccupations (1678, painting by Jean Baptiste de Champaigne; Lyons Museum). Beginning in the Romanesque period, the guests are seated around a rectangular table; Christ commonly occupies the center of the long side, and Judas, isolated, is opposite him. Judas is identified by one or more of the following characteristics: in the vast majority of cases he holds a purse; frequently he holds his hand toward the plate or swallows the piece of bread, dipped in wine, which Christ extends to him (1394, panel painting by Bertram de Minden; Hanover

Museum). At this precise moment, the devil sometimes enters into his mouth in the form of a toad or a red winged creature, in order to illustrate the words of St. John: tunc introivit in eum Satanas (c. 1215, Psalter of Blanche of Castille; Bibliothèque de l'Arsenal, Paris); or he steals a fish, proof of his gluttony (1181; ambo of Nicholas of Verdun, Klosterneuberg). In contrast to the bright haloes of the other Apostles, that of Judas is black or absent (1305, fresco by Giotto; Scrovegni Chapel, Padua). Titian was the first to place the table on a slant, to suggest a much greater depth (c. 1544; Ducal Palace, Urbino). Accepting this ingenious arrangement, Tintoretto plunged the scene into darkness pierced with difficulty by a flaring lamp (1594; S. Giorgio Maggiore, Venice).

Communion of the Apostles. The Communion of the Apostles is a theme especially well represented in Byzantine art (Gospel Book of Rabbula, 586; Laurentian Library, Florence). Christ is represented twice, since six Apostles advance toward him to receive the bread and six others to receive the wine; all are standing. In Western art, Christ is represented once and He alone remains standing. The Apostles kneel, and the Virgin also, if she is present. Among the rare examples may be cited a fresco by Fra Angelico (1432–42; Convent of St. Mark, Florence), a panel by Justus of Ghent (1474; Pinacoteca, Urbino), and a fresco by Luca Signorelli (1512, Cortona cathedral). Western artists have sometimes evoked the institution of the Eucharist by means of the blessing of the bread and of the wine (Consecration). This is the case with Dirk Bouts (1464–70; church of St. Peter, Louvain), who enriched the theme by means of four prefigurations borrowed from the Old Testament: the sacrifice of Melchisedec to Abraham, the harvest of the manna in the desert, Elijah comforted by an angel, and the Jewish Passover.

Bibliography: o. schmitt, ed., Reallexikon zur deutschen Kunstgeschichte (Stuttgart 1933–). m. vloberg, L'Eucharistie dans l'art (Grenoble 1946). e. h. kantorowicz, "Baptism of the Apostles," Dumbarton Oaks Papers 9–10 (1956) 205–251. l. rÉau, Iconographie de l'art chrétien, 6 v. (Paris 1955–59) 2.2.

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