Last Supper, The (Leonardo da Vinci) Easter Egg - The Last Supper

The last supper is not correct in seating The did not have a one table setting! The table was in a "U shape. Jesus sat on the second place facing the " opening". First of all they RECLINED to left from setting on pillows which was the custom for a passover supper. Judas was on Jesus' left and leaned to say he who dips with me etc. Thus Judas knew he was talking about him no one else. Go to a SADAR (passover) meal and many will explain this to you. I go every year and reap a lot from the meal and teaching.

The LOAFS of bread are not realistic! They had unleavened bread which was not a LOAF! It looked like our crackers only larger. Also: Peter would have sat at the lowest place (servants set) across from Jesus on the end in the "U" shaped table.

Very little in the painting is authentic; the arches above their heads, the table, the food, the seating, et cetera would not have been in a seder of the time. Many specific parts were based on modern/Greco-Roman ones. I'm not sure whether this was an attempt by Leonardo to sort of modernize the last supper to make the story seem more relevant to Renaissance viewers or if it was just a combination of an attempt to fully show the picture and of ignorance of customs of the time.

This is technically not an EASTER egg, for the scenario portrayed in the painting depicts Christ BEFORE he rose from the dead.

Me and my friend were bored and we came to the site and I was like "hey man you know much about The Last Supper by Da Vinci?" mind you we are looking at the copy on http://www.ricks.edu/Ricks/Employee/DavisR/Art/Leonardo,%20Last%20Supper.JPG and so he was telling me about how that arch thing at the bottom center is the door way cut into the picture and I said something about too many hands. So we were just looking and I said OK lets count the people. I counted 14. He asked how I got 14. "There are 12 apostles and 1 Jesus. What do you mean?" Well if you look at the picture there is the faintest trace of a head behind the 3rd apostle from the left. You can also he his hand reaching out to Judas who also betrayed Jesus as you may know. We don't know what this means but we were thinking maybe it's an evil figure taking Judas to the dark side as you may. I don't know I'd like to find out more.

Also, if you look very closely you can see that the Disciples are eating Kentucky Fried Chicken. They were going to have bread and wine but Judas came into some money.

I would really like to know if anyone could help me find the hidden face over the 3rd apostle's head... it could just be my copy of the pic but I don't see it.

I think the hand belongs to the second apostle. But I do agree that there are many possible figures in the back. Check out behind the 5th and 6th apostles. It seems to be a woman. If you really want to know, the painting is in the Boston Museum of Fine Arts right now.

Has anyone ever considered the idea that DaVinci's painting is his interpretation of the event... I mean, that IS what makes it art. Nobody can know for sure what really happened, and it doesn't have to be completely factual to be one of the greatest works ever painted.

I thought you guys might want an up-to-date address to the painting. It's http://192.41.13.240/artchive/l/leonardo/lastsupp.jpg . That site is at the top of Google, so it should be around for a while.

This painting is not in the Boston Museum of Art. It is a fresco in a Refectory in Florence. This painting is also so damaged that the hidden figures could be where the paint has fallen off or perhaps Leonardo had painted over a figure.

The last supper is not in Florence. It is in Milan. It's true that it has faded somewhat, but it is being (or has been?) restored. I last saw it in '98, and though faded, it still is quite beautiful. And as commented earlier - it certainly won't be going to Boston. It's a little heavy for that ;o)

Sure, the bread should be unlevened, but more importantly, notice there is none on any of the plates. Jesus' "Last Supper" and there's no food. His arms are open to symbolize trust and giving? Maybe they are open and offering nothing, a table with no food. More importantly, there is no wine! The Eucharist, the body and BLOOD of christ. Where is the blood then??

I'm sorry for my lack of valid information, but maybe the painting is so inaccurate because da Vinci didn't care about being accurate. My art history teacher told me that "The Last Supper" was one of da Vinci's many experiments. He used a different binder (a substance in paints that causes particles of pigment to adhere to one another and to a support), but it didn't work. Between the humidity of Spain and the bad binder, the paint started to fall off before he was finished with it. If it was just an experiment for his paint, da Vinci might not have cared about the shape of the table or the risen loaves of bread.

im having trouble finding a good copy of the painting... does anyone have any URLs?

Has anyone ever noticed that tracing the outline of Jesus and the "person" on his immediate right forms a "M" -- perhaps for Mary Magalene? Perhaps he has disguised Mary M as some feel that she was Jesus' concubine.

The tipped salt shaker isn't an easter egg. The superstition about spilling salt was created by this painting. There was no superstition before The Last Supper was painted :)

Dukeman: You should read Dan Brown's The Da Vinci Code. It has some things about how they form the M, and other hidden meanings in the Last Supper (and some other Da Vinci paintings).

OK this comment is on the hands of christ. Why are his hands faced the opposite direction, right hand faced down and left hand faced up, rather than the normal right hand face up and left hand faced down, significance of right hand being heven and left hand being hell?

Does anyone know what the hand in front of the third apostle is holding? It looks like a knife, but it does not look like it belongs to any of the shown people in the painting. Also, the person seated at the right of Christ looks a lot like a woman (Mary M.). The mysterious hand could be the 12th apostle, making 14 people in the painting.

There is wine, look at the twelve glasses, they are filled with wine, however there is not one glass or chalice filled with wine like the bible says that is supposedly the holy grail. Think about that. And there is a hand belonging to no one that weilds a knife or dagger, and it can't belong to Peter(the fourth apostle from the left talking to the womanly figure next to jesus) because Da Vinci knew the anatomy of people and the hand denies human construction if it does belong to Peter (look for yourself, Peter's hand goes down then a right angle happens in the color and out of nowhere a hand holding a knife, and it has lines showing it's not his hand). That dark guy reaching to Judas, i don't see it and i have a restored copy of it, the original. A fun fact: Da Vinci was a pagan, so he wouldn't make things as they were supposed to be anyway. Oh, and another thing, look at Jesus' robes and the person to the left of him, his right. They are the only ones wearing identical robes with the same broach or whatever it is at the center of the collar, but they have inverted colors, like yin and yang, or like the sacred male and female. Just giving you all something to think about.

Hey guys, if you look in the middle of the painting, you can see Jesus! Seriously, how is this an egg. It's easy to find on a large copy of the painting

http://fits.depauw.edu/aharris/Courses/ArtH132/galleries/images/fullsize/fs_da_Vinci_Last_Supper_cleaned.jpg is one of the best sites to find the picture of the last supper! Close up you can see evrything including the knife,the bread the wine and even the "Strange head" thats was described earlier! Enjoy!

From my book, "Invitation to Italy” Milan’s Santa Maria delle Grazie, Home of da Vinci’s “Last Supper” A newspaper photo displayed in the refectory shows the aftermath of an air-raid in August 1943, during WW II. A portion of the top of the “Last Supper,” the west wall and the roof were destroyed. Another large picture, the “Crucifixion” by Giovanni Donato Montorfano, painted on the south wall of the room, survived almost intact. Isn’t it amazing, Montorfano’s painting, perhaps as old and nearly as detailed and in better condition than the one painted by da Vinci, is not nearly as famous as the “Last Supper,” just a few feet away. Also, At the Wieliczka, Salt Mine, a few miles east of Krakow, Poland, a thousand feet under ground, on the walls are beautiful sculptures and bas-reliefs, entirely carved out of salt. Various religious scenes, perhaps 15 by 30 feet, include a three dimensional sculpture of da Vinci’s fresco, “Last Supper.” See at http://www.travel-tidbits.com/tidbits/003888.shtml

ok, everybody. An answer to the knife. Peter is standing, holding the knife because later, in the garden, he uses said knife to cut off Malchus' ear. The anatomy is completely correct. Extend your right arm in front of you, then rotate your hand as far left as you can. Once you have done this, bend your arm and place your wrist on your right hip. Now look at the painting. Peter was simply posing in disbelief, and, holding his weapon, could not simply put his hand onn his hip. He had to turn it to accomodate his knife. This accounts for all hands. There is not really a "head," either, it is simply the way the column is shaded. There is actually no distinct face.

Just a footnote, many renaissance artists "modernized" their paintings of biblical events by portraying the characters in renaissance dress instead of traditional/ancient Jewish or Messopotamian dress.

http://milan.arounder.com/en/churches/santa-maria-delle-grazie-church/the-last-supper-leonardo-da-vinci.html This is the best page to view the painting, as you can zoom in and out of the various areas. Technically there are 14 people in the painting; Jesus, the 12 apostles, and the viewer. Dead center of the painting is the observer's chair.

To be truthful, everyone was pagan before christianity came along. Also, the feminine figure is a young boy. In the era of Leonardo Davinci, it was common for artists to give feminine features to younger men to show their age difference. There is no more of a bust on him than there is on Jesus. Also, Judas never betrayed Christ. If you look at the original text of the bible, it directly translates to 'hand over.' Judas was Jesus' favorite disciple and there is even evidence of a somewhat romantic relationship between them. No, I'm not saying Jesus was gay, because those sexual terms did not apply to people of that time. I believe Jesus and Judas decided together that Judas would 'hand over' Jesus to the Jews. If you think about it, had Judas never done that, Jesus could not have fulfilled his reason for being here. And I do see a face above the far left apostle's head. It looks rather like a skeleton than an actual face. But, this painting has gone through a lot and paint had chipped off and dirt has stained it - I doubt it really means anything. Also, this was never the way in which the disciples ate - so this is purely leonardo davinci's interpretation of the event. They didn't sit at tables during Jesus' time, they sat on cushions around a low coffee table like structure. I get my theories from the History Channel/HCI (History Channel International) so if you have problems with what I say take it up with the channel.

Not technically an egg but every line in the painting is directed towards Jesus, making him the focus point of the painting, he is also positioned in a triangle shape, representing the Father, Son, and Holy Spirit