The last supper in Christian religion
The last supper is one of the significant events of the Christian religion that Christian faithful continue to commemorate to date. Art imitates religious ideology as such artists have also captured the essence of the last supper by developing creative works based on biblical description and imaginations of the events that took place. This paper will discuss the similarities and difference between the portrayals of different artists, such as Leonardo Da Vinci and Marisol Escobar of the last supper. Leonardo Da Vinci’s painting the “Last Supper” (1498) was the main inspiration for Marisol Escobar (1984) composition “Self-portrait looking at the last supper.”
The subject matter and composition elements of the artworks relate. Leonardo Da Vinci and Escobar’s works touch of the religious subject matter as both captures the essence of the sacred event of the last supper. These artworks capture different scenes that express the successive moments and apostles reactions to the betrayal and prophecy of the death of Christ (Marisol). The “Last Supper” by Leonardo Da Vinci serves as the blueprint for Marisol Escobar, “Self-portrait looking at the last supper”. Although some elements of Escobar’s homage are different, the majority of features borrow from Leonardo’s work. For instance, both Leonardo and Escobar have twelve apostles arranged in groups of three around Jesus. Both paintings have similar layouts at the background, including three planes, behind Christ and the four planes on each side of the apostle that meet at the horizon behind Christ.
These two artists use different styles and unique depictions that help differentiate their works. Leonardo Da Vinci (1498) is a two-dimensional mural painting of the last supper developed from tempera and oil on plaster. Escobar’s, “Self-portrait looking at the last supper” is a composition created from mainly wood carving decorated using painting and drawing. The artist fluctuates between two and three-dimension in the creation of figures of the piece (Marisol). Although Escobar’s “Self-portrait looking at the last supper” is a homage, the artist still employs creativity to help distinguish her work from the original piece. Escobar freezes Christ in a brownstone carving, unlike the other figures. She is also part composition as a figure in front contemplating about the scenes at the table. Leonardo’s work is exclusively a painting (Marisol).
The religious theme has been an important subject matter for artists across centuries. The last supper, as captured by Leonardo Da Vinci and Marisol Escobar was an iconic moment in Christianity that captures the last meal of Jesus Christ with his disciplines before he was betrayed and crucified on the cross.