The Last Supper (Dove)

Abstract

AndyWarhol’s final achievement,hisLast Supper series, used Pop Art to reanimate Leonardo da Vinci’s 15th century sacred mural located in the refectory of SantaMaria delle Grazie Dominican Church in Milan, Italy. Commissioned by his friend the art dealer Alexandre Iolas,Warhol preparedmore than 40 versions,bothsilk-screenedandhand-painted,of theLastSupper. Among these, 10 of the silk-screened ones and 12 collagesweredisplayedatanexhibit thatopened inMilanonJanuary22, 1987, andclosedonMarch21, 1987.1,3 Somewerecolored or made on camouflage backgrounds, and others show details of Jesus with overlapping colored rectangles. They were displayed on the walls of the Palazzo delle Stelline gallery, a former convent, located only 50 m from Leonardo’s original mural that was being cleaned at the time of the exhibit. Overall, more than 30 000 people viewed the exhibit. At what proved to be his final public appearance, Warhol became ill in Milan with recurrent gallbladder disease. He was hospitalized and underwent a cholecystectomy shortly after returning toNewYork; unfortunately, he died on February 22 during the night following his surgery.1 His funeral tookplaceonApril 1, 1987, andmany tooknote that it was April Fool’s Day. Warhol never wished to be taken seriously; he always kept his public guessing, famously saying: “If you want to know all about AndyWarhol, just look at the surface: ofmypaintings and films andme, and there I am. There is nothing behind it.”3(p23) However, in their memorials, his friends insisted that his public persona, his apparent obsession withmoney, fame, and glamor, was disingenuous. Their eulogies revealed that there was something more behindWarhol’s public persona,his secret piety (first epigraph).3 During his lifetime, he preferred to remain amystery (second epigraph), but his closest friendswerewell aware of his regular churchattendanceandhowhehelpedout at a shelter (serving food to homeless people during holidays). AndyWarhol (1928-1987), an immigrant fromwhat is now Slovakia,wasborn into theByzantineCatholicChurchandwas adevoutCatholicwho regularly attended church at SaintVincent Ferrer's Church on Lexington Avenue in New York. Sitting unobtrusively in the back of the church, he would drop in several times a week, light a candle, and pray for about 15 minutes.1-3 Warhol lived with his devout mother most of his adult life. He maintained an altar with a crucifix and wellworn prayer book beside his bed. Despite his religious beliefs, religious imagery was not evident in his art until he initiatedhis seriesofLastSuppers.The imageryof theLastSupper had followedhimthroughouthis life.His brother recalled that a reproduction of Leonardo’s Last Supper hung in the family kitchenduringtheir childhood.4Andy’smothercarriedaprayer card in her bible with a reproduction of the mural, and after her death, he kept it and treasured it. Leonardo’s The Last Suppermural was commissioned by Ludovico Sforza, Duke of Milan, and was painted between 1495 and 1498. It was placed in the main building of a church that had been remodeled in order to build a Sforza family court chapel and burial place for the members of his family, with the mural as its centerpiece. The lunettes above the painting, formed by the 3 arches of the ceiling, were painted with the Sforza coat of arms. The opposite wall of the refectory was covered by a fresco of the Crucifixion by another artist; Leonardo painted the likenesses of Sforza family members on it.5 Leonardo was not experienced with fresco but instead painted al secco, a method more often used on wood. In fresco, the colors used that are applied to wet plaster permanently bond as the plaster dries, but with al secco, the pigment, mixed with oil and tempera, is applied to dry stucco. This approach allowed Leonardo to work slowly, to render colors more vividly and precisely, to reflect on the work in progress, and to make corrections. Unfortunately, the bonding of the paint to the stucco is unstable, so the mural has deteriorated over the years. Leonardo’s approach was unique to the story of the Last Supper: 12menare seated at dinner celebrating a solemn feast with their charismatic leader, Jesus. Each of them has been carefully selected byHim to carry outHis teachings. They are gathered together inanoccupiedcitywhere theauthorities are plotting to strike against them, and among them sits a traitor. Leonardo’sLast Supperportrays each apostle’s reactionwhen Jesus announces that one among them will betray Him, and he portrays the turmoil that results from the impact of Jesus’ words by showinghow the apostles differ in their reactions to this tragic news: shocked, puzzled, bemused, terrified, suspicious, angry, or despairing.5 Jesus is seated at the center of the table and is depicted as larger thanHisdiscipleswhoare arranged in4groupsof 3. The most dramatic response is shown to His right. John, adjacent toJesus, leans towardPeter,whomoves forwardbetweenJudas and John to whisper to John “Who is it of whom he speaks?”