Tintoretto The Last Supper Interpretation
Jacopo Tintoretto – the “Last Supper”
The European renaissance era started its early manifestations in Italy reflecting on different topics such as architecture, dance, literature, music, philosophy, science, technology, warfare and fine arts. One of the renaissance era artists, Jacopo Tintoretto depicted the “Last Supper” several times during his artistic career when a work of his final years 1592-94 presents a drastically unconventional compositional formula.
What makes of Tintoretto’s “Last Supper” an unconventional presentation of this subject in terms of design/ visual elements and how can it be interpreted as work of art?
The “Last Supper” is an oil on canvas painting by the dimensions of 365cm x 568 cm executed in 1592-94 and housed …show more content…
in Basilica di San Giorgio Maggiori Venice.
Interpreting this work of art, we cannot ignore the unusual subjects that compose altogether the elements of this painting where the center of the scene is not occupied by the apostles, but instead by secondary characters such as a woman carrying a dish and the servants taking the dishes from the table, the thing that does not follow the way this moment was conventionally observed in most paintings of the last supper which Leonardo Da Vinci’s late 1490s mural and Albrecht Durer’s woodcut are the best examples of.
We also notice in this painting that the table recedes into space on a steep diagonal, which differs to other artists’ interpretations where the scene is depicted from a frontal perspective that is parallel to the picture plane.
In terms of the use of light and colors it is clear that light comes into obscurity from both the light on the ceiling and from Jesus’ aureola. Also Tintoretto focuses on motion in his painting bringing the image to dramatic life. How dramatic this scene is engages the viewers in keeping with its ideals where there was use of different devices that noted its asymmetric and complex composition.
This artwork portrays the last supper in a whole different approach influenced by harmonious ideals and even goes a step further where it is intellectually sophisticated and almost opposed to naturalistic qualities where it favors compositional tension and instability rather than the balance and clarity of earlier renaissance painting. We also notice in this painting a form of unity where all the subjects complete each other throughout the dramatic gestures that Tintoretto emphasizes on and that form a continuous line or path moving that can be easily identified in that artwork. If we were to discuss the signs and signifiers of this painting we notice that although it is opposed to naturalistic styles, we find realistic aspects in it where darkness comes to reflect the dominating human ignorance and disassociates somehow the dressed people serving food as if to
suggest the world of ignorance as they are not associated to Christ and presented as senseless as the animals painted in the painting. We also notice that however like Da Vinci, Tintoretto distances Judas from the disciples by not placing a halo of light around his head.
Also, the flying images on the top suggest the flying angels witnessing the last supper of the Christ as if the painting has the elements of contrast between super human and human, the contrast of ignorance and enlightened as well as the contrast of human and non human.
Over all, the painting with its dramatic feel dark lighting and peculiar cast sets a very distinct aura in the painting. They all seem out of place, yet at the same time, they complement each other.
Tintoretto depicts heaven opening up into the room, and the anfels looking in awe, in line with the old Catholic maxim that “if the angels were capable of envy, they would envy the Eucharist”.
Last, we can not but wonder how well religious art and such dramatic scenes can engage the viewers in keeping with counter reformation ideals and Catholic Church’s belief in its didactic nature
The European renaissance era started its early manifestations in Italy reflecting on different topics such as architecture, dance, literature, music, philosophy, science, technology, warfare and fine arts. One of the renaissance era artists, Jacopo Tintoretto depicted the “Last Supper” several times during his artistic career when a work of his final years 1592-94 presents a drastically unconventional compositional formula.
What makes of Tintoretto’s “Last Supper” an unconventional presentation of this subject in terms of design/ visual elements and how can it be interpreted as work of art?
The “Last Supper” is an oil on canvas painting by the dimensions of 365cm x 568 cm executed in 1592-94 and housed …show more content…
in Basilica di San Giorgio Maggiori Venice.
Interpreting this work of art, we cannot ignore the unusual subjects that compose altogether the elements of this painting where the center of the scene is not occupied by the apostles, but instead by secondary characters such as a woman carrying a dish and the servants taking the dishes from the table, the thing that does not follow the way this moment was conventionally observed in most paintings of the last supper which Leonardo Da Vinci’s late 1490s mural and Albrecht Durer’s woodcut are the best examples of.
We also notice in this painting that the table recedes into space on a steep diagonal, which differs to other artists’ interpretations where the scene is depicted from a frontal perspective that is parallel to the picture plane.
In terms of the use of light and colors it is clear that light comes into obscurity from both the light on the ceiling and from Jesus’ aureola. Also Tintoretto focuses on motion in his painting bringing the image to dramatic life. How dramatic this scene is engages the viewers in keeping with its ideals where there was use of different devices that noted its asymmetric and complex composition.
This artwork portrays the last supper in a whole different approach influenced by harmonious ideals and even goes a step further where it is intellectually sophisticated and almost opposed to naturalistic qualities where it favors compositional tension and instability rather than the balance and clarity of earlier renaissance painting. We also notice in this painting a form of unity where all the subjects complete each other throughout the dramatic gestures that Tintoretto emphasizes on and that form a continuous line or path moving that can be easily identified in that artwork. If we were to discuss the signs and signifiers of this painting we notice that although it is opposed to naturalistic styles, we find realistic aspects in it where darkness comes to reflect the dominating human ignorance and disassociates somehow the dressed people serving food as if to
suggest the world of ignorance as they are not associated to Christ and presented as senseless as the animals painted in the painting. We also notice that however like Da Vinci, Tintoretto distances Judas from the disciples by not placing a halo of light around his head.
Also, the flying images on the top suggest the flying angels witnessing the last supper of the Christ as if the painting has the elements of contrast between super human and human, the contrast of ignorance and enlightened as well as the contrast of human and non human.
Over all, the painting with its dramatic feel dark lighting and peculiar cast sets a very distinct aura in the painting. They all seem out of place, yet at the same time, they complement each other.
Tintoretto depicts heaven opening up into the room, and the anfels looking in awe, in line with the old Catholic maxim that “if the angels were capable of envy, they would envy the Eucharist”.
Last, we can not but wonder how well religious art and such dramatic scenes can engage the viewers in keeping with counter reformation ideals and Catholic Church’s belief in its didactic nature