Bassano's Last Judgment

The Last Judgment, by Leandro Bassano 16th century Venetian Artist, religious painting of Christ Finished in 1596, currently residing in the National Museum of Western Art; Tokyo, Japan (Ueno). Visited on 11/2/09 from 10:15-11:30 Bassano’s The Last Judgment Painted by Leandro Bassano, a 16th century Venetian artist, The Last Judgment is a stunning work of scared art that takes one’s breath away upon first sight. Finished in 1596, the oil painting stands 73 x 51 cm tall and currently resides in the National Museum of Western Art in Tokyo, Japan. Visiting this piece on a Monday, I had the pleasure of seeing it mostly to myself. Most people walking by stopped to take a brief look at the well lit painting and I couldn’t help but wonder if they were Christian or not and whether or not the piece would have had a bigger impact if they were. At first glance it was pretty easy for me to see this piece’s relationship to Christianity and the event that it depicts. The painting, to me, appears in 3 sections: the central and most eye drawing section on top, the middle section, and the bottom section. The top section depicts Jesus of Nazareth basked in a glowing light holding a white flag of salvation while a man, most likely his father God, floats above him. He is surrounded by angels and pure followers of Christ at, what the title suggests, is the last judgment. This section is the brightest and most eye catching part of the painting due to the well played contrasting colors surrounding it. All other parts following this are duller and darker in color and really help to create a glowing light in the darkness effect for this top portion. The middle section, duller in tone to its predecessor, appears in two parts. The left side portrays people of the church while the right side shows commoners. I felt this section depicted those who were neither tainted nor completely pure; those who were almost in reach of salvation but who could yet still fall. I