Heather Green, Image Gallery Project
IL277CC: Images of Jesus, Roanoke College, VA
E-mail: hgreen@roanoke.edu
Introduction:
The Last Supper has been a popular scene in Christ's life to reenact. It has been depicted in many different ages and by several artists. Representations like Leonardo DaVinci's "Last Supper" are more famous or popular than other works, but with each artist's representation comes a different view of Jesus and his ministry. This site will provide several renderings of this important occasion in the life of Jesus Christ.
Background Information:
Jesus' Last Supper is described in Matthew 26:20-29, Mark 14:17-25, and Luke 22:14-23. Each of these Gospels were written at varying times and by different authors: Matthew and Luke were most likely written between the years 80 and 90 AD, while Mark is thought to have been created around 69 AD. In reading the excerpts provided, one can see that these passages are very similar. All have common components such as the gathering of the twelve with Jesus, the consumption of the body and blood of Christ, the denial of being the betrayer by each disciple, and so on. The images on following pages are narratives of the life of Christ, which means they directly correlate (for the most part) to the scriptures in Matthew, Mark, and Luke.
The Meditations on the Life of Christ provide a more detailed version of what took place during the Last Supper, tell the reader how one should feel, and to imagine being present at the supper. In these ways, the Meditations differ from Biblical texts. Very few aspects of the images correlate to the Meditations, but there are some similarities to be discussed. One example common to these images includes the description of John sleeping on the breast of Christ. Most of the images included on this site portray John as reclining in some way, this is not mentioned in the Bible.
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