Gene Fackler
While Da Vinci’s original Last Supper is being restored today, it is in such a disrepair that the bag of money is hard to see and the salt spilled on the table cannot be seen at all. However, we know about the spilled salt because Da Vinci had one of his best pupils of him, Marco di Omaggiono, copy the Last Supper on a smaller scale. A common practice among the great painters, his pupil’s work clarified the painting’s details. Omaggiono did the outline and Da Vinci applied the color. It is on this copy that we see the spilled salt.
The Bible offers only minimal information as to the precise situation of the Last Supper. Artists throughout history have used these clues and “artistic license” as they present their own version of the scene. ABR staff artist Gene Fackler examines some of the famous artistic depictions of this event, comparing them with Scripture.
LEONARDO DA VINCI (1495–98), a giant in the roster of famous master painters, painted The Last Supper nine years before Martin Luther nailed up his 95 theses, and it took seven years to paint. The Last Supper is not a framed painting that hangs on a wall. Without exaggeration, it is the wall itself!
While a large modern dining room table might be 2.5 m (8 ft) long, Da Vinci’s Last Supper table measures over 8.5 m (28 ft) long. The picture is also over 4.5 m (15 ft) high, with all the disciples over 2.4 m (8 ft) tall. .. truly larger than life!
In reality, the Last Supper did not take place around a 80 cm (32 in)-tall table. Instead of sitting on chairs, the disciples reclined on their left side around three sides of a table. Among the Romans, this type of dining was known as a triclinium (“three recliner,” Jn 13:23; Lk 22:14).
In Da Vinci’s painting it is difficult to determine whether the disciples are sitting or standing. Instead of “reclining,” as Scripture notes, eight figures are definitely standing, two seem to be seated, and three could be doing either.
John 13:23–25 notes that “John reclined upon Jesus’ breast.” Apparently on Jesus ‘right, John reclined on his left side and when he leaned back his head would have leaned on Jesus’ chest. At the same time, Judas is also mentioned near, even next to, Jesus. When asked by Peter who would betray Him, Jesus answered,
“That is the one for whom I shall dip the morsel and give it to him.” So when He had dipped the morsel, He gave it to Judas, the son of Simon Iscariot (Jn 13:26, NAS).
It appears John reclined on Jesus’ right, leaning on Jesus. Judas apparently reclined on Jesus’ left, and possibly Jesus even leaned His head on Judas as He gave him the dipped morsel.
How do we know which figure is Judas in Da Vinci’s Last Supper? Scripture notes that Judas was “keeper of the money bag” (Jn 12:6), apparently indicating he was the group’s treasurer. I have collected 80 photos of classical paintings of the Last Supper, and in 90 percent, one man holds a “money bag.” This is how Da Vinci depicts Judas Iscariot.
Da Vinci is the master of subtlety. Like Mona Lisa’s subtle smile, some see it but others do not. Da Vinci masterfully included a second clue of Judas’ betrayal and identification. Beyond clutching the money bag under his right arm, in front of his plate, he is a small container of salt which has been tipped over and spilled on the table.
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When we spill a little salt in our home, we simply brush it aside with little thought. However, salt played a greater role in everyday Biblical life. Beyond use in daily meals, salt was also part of sacrificial offerings to the Lord.
Every grain offering of yours you shall season with salt, so that the salt of the covenant of your God shall not be lacking from your grain offering; with all your offerings you shall offer salt (Lev 2:13, NAS).
Salt was also part of the covenant-making process. Covenants were generally confirmed by sacrificial meals, and salt was always present. David received his kingdom from him forever from God by a “covenant of salt” (2 Chr 13:5). Eating together was part of friendship and salt was regularly on the table, thus the Arabic expressions, “There is salt between us,” and “He has eaten my salt.” Covenants could be broken by the symbolic act of casting salt on the ground.
In Da Vinci’s Last Supper, not only was Judas clutching the money bag with 30 pieces of silver, but in front of him was a pile of spilled salt. It perfectly symbolized a broken covenant of friendship (Ps 41:9, Jn 13:18).
Famous depictions of the Last Supper appear in four different art forms; engravings, paintings, sculptures and wall-size tapestries. Generally, John the Beloved Disciple is leaning on the breast of Jesus, and Judas the Treasurer and Betrayer is represented as holding the money bag. Beyond these two, it is impossible to identify any of the other disciples. The same is true of Scripture, where their places around the table are unstated.
Dutch painter Albrecht Durer (1471-1528)
Durer was a very close friend of Martin Luther and supported all the principles of the Reformation. Known for his deep piety and personal faith in Christ, one of his deeply-moving devotional statements of him is in Francis Schaeffer’s book, How Then Shall We Live. Durer came from a family of 18 brothers and sisters. His father de él was a goldsmith and could n’t afford to send two sons to art school, so Durer’s older brother went to work in a coal mine so Albrecht could attend art school. Becoming one of the world’s great artists with a dynamic personal testimony, Durer painted the famous Praying Hands in honor of his older brother’s sacrifice for him.
In Durer’s Last Supper, Judas is also identified by the money bag. Seated on the composition’s right front and leaning forward, he grasps the money bag in his right hand. There he sits, looking so involved and committed in a great spiritual activity, yet he was a traitor.
Albrecht Durer: black line drawing.
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Anonymous (16th Century) German Limestone Carving
This beautiful carving, with its three-dimensional quality, is large and heavy, typical of what was hung on a stone wall inside a cathedral. Apparently John has prostrated himself on the round communion table while Jesus rests His left hand on his head. John seems to be in a state of grief, perhaps after hearing Jesus say, “One of you will betray me.” Where is Judas? Seated on a chair in the right foreground with his back toward us, he clutches the money bag, holding it behind the chair out of the other disciples’ sight.
Jesus knew something about that money bag that none of the disciples knew. It contained 30 silver coins with the fingerprints of the chief priests who paid Judas to betray the Lord. Later attempting to return the money, Judas would say, “I have sinned by betraying innocent blood” (Mt. 27:3, 4). That little bag, hid from the rest of the disciples, came to be known as “blood money.”
The style of dress in this art work is not first century Palestine, but common to 16th-century Europe. To help viewers identify with the scene, artists will use a variety of conventions to pull them into the composition. While all artists want their work appreciated, many also want the message to reach people’s hearts.
Anonymous: 16th-century limestone carving. Metropolitan Museum of Art, New York.
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Philippe De Champaigne (1602-1674), Belgian, Oil Painting
Champaigne gave distinct personalities to each of the 12 Disciples in his Last Supper. Prominent are expressions on the faces and gestures of the disciples as they see Jesus point one finger upward and say, “one. .. of you will betray me.” .. Some point toward others, while one puts his hand to his own chest as if to say, “Is it I?”. Judas sits on the extreme left end of the table. He’s expressionless, unmoved, his bent wrist on his hip conveys a nonchalant attitude. He holds the tell-tale money bag in his left hand resting on his thigh. I sense he is ready to rise, go out and “do quickly” his infamous deed of him.
Large Flemish Wall Tapestry (16th Century)
Large tapestries usually covered whole walls, serving as beautiful artwork and insulation against the cold stone walls of castles and cathedrals. I have seen wall tapestries measuring up to 6 m (20 ft) wide and high.
John, the Beloved Disciple, is reclining on the breast of Jesus, who in turn has wrapped His right arm over His shoulder and across His chest. John is clasping his hands together in front of himself, the picture of peace and contentment. Judas is in the right foreground clutching his toga to quickly step over his seat and go out into night. The money bag is tucked under his belt on his left hip. If you count the individuals in the picture you’ll note 14 people. Beyond Jesus and the 12, a servant is in the left foreground pouring wine into a cup. It is possible the owner of the house provided someone to help serve the Passover meal that night, allowing all the disciples to participate in the meal with undivided attention.
Philippe de Champaigne: oil painting.
16th century large Flemish Wall Tapestry.
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Anonymous: Oil Painting (16th Century), Lisbon.
This painting was decorated near the main altar of a church in Portugal. The artist depicts an activity we have not seen before. Jesus is actually handing a morsel of bread across the table to Judas just as He said. . .
“He’s the one to whom I will give a piece of bread after I’ve dipped it in the sauce.” And Jesus dipped the bread and gave it to Judas, son of Simon Iscariot (Jn 13:25).
Judas has a money bag under his belt along with a dagger.
It was a common practice that faces of a town’s dignitaries adorned the bodies of the disciples. It is told that Michelangelo painted the likeness of one of his antagonists of him on the body of an individual in the scene of eternal damnation on the back wall of the Sistine Chapel. It’s still there after six centuries.
Anonymous: Lisbon oil painting (16th century).
IAM Masters (1485), A Pickpocket in the Crowd
This work is truly unique. Masters painted in the style of a modern-day surveillance camera. Scripture notes “… he was a thief; as keeper of the money bag, he used to help himself to what was put into it” (Jn 12:6). Judas was apparently the group’s treasurer, and he was apparently stealing from the treasury.
In this black line drawing, note the figure in the foreground, precisely in the center of the painting. He is picking the pocket of his fellow disciple of him! Unadulterated hypocrisy, it reminds us of Jesus’ words, “But woe to the man who betrays the Son of Man! It would be better for that man if he had never been born” (Mt 26:24).
IAM Masters: Engraving of a pickpocket.