was mary magdalene in the painting of the last supper?

Question

in the da vinci code book there is written that a woman was present at the last supper of christ is this a true fact or just ficticious.

Answer 1

Please, please, please not this question again.

Before we start, let me just say that I have studies da Vinci for many years now and have even handled some of his works myself.

Here's your answer.


One of Leonardo’s most famous paintings, and famous during his own lifetime, the Last Supper is now but a shadow of its former self as it would have appeared on completion in 1497. A combination of the unorthodox painting techniques employed by Leonardo, the pervading dampness of the refectory wall and repeated programmes of restoration that began as early as 1517, have all contributed to the substantial deterioration of the painting.

However, the most recent campaign of restoration completed in 1999 seems to have halted the deterioration of the painting’s surface and brought to light the original colour of the work. Furthermore, previously unobserved details are now apparent, such as the wall-hangings and their patterns seen on the side walls of the room in which the “Last Supper” takes place and the objects on the table.

The coats of arms that appear in the lunettes above the painting indicate that the painting was not commissioned by the monks of Santa Maria delle Grazie, but by Ludovico Sforza, who was also the patron of the new choir of the church of Santa Maria delle Grazie, which was intended as a family mausoleum for Ludovico and his family. The fact that the Last Supper is described in glowing terms by Luca Pacioli in his Divina Proportione, dedicated to Ludovico Sforza in February 1498, indicates that the painting was probably completed some time in 1497.

Pacioli mentions how the painting describes the moment at which Christ announced, “One of you shall betray me” (Matthew 26:21).

Medium Oil and tempera on plaster
Size 460 x 880 cm
Location Santa Maria delle Grazie


In what was a highly innovative approach to the traditional representation of the subject, Leonardo concentrated on the different reactions of each of the Apostles, conveying their varied emotional responses through their facial expressions, poses and physical gestures. Surviving studies for the heads of some of the Apostles indicate that Leonardo studied the physiognomy and expression of each individual, working out every detail in drawings.

In the painting, he took the unusual step of arranging the figures into groups of three in order to avoid the monotony of the elongated format of the composition as in more traditional representations of the theme such as Ghirlandaio’s Last Supper in the refectory of San Marco in Florence.


******THIS BIT IS VERY IMPORTANT******

The identities of the Apostles are derived from the inscriptions with which they are accompanied in a contemporary copy of the painting, now in Ponte Capriasca, Lugano. They are generally excepted on this basis as from left to right, Bartholomew, James the Younger, Andrew, Judas, Peter, John, all on Christ’s left, and Thomas, James the Elder, Philip, Matthew, Thaddeus and Simon to the right of Christ.

In the Last Supper, Leonardo employed a system of single point perspective as a means of unifying the composition, and replicating the real space of the refectory. In this way, the room in which the Last Supper takes place appears as a virtual extension of the room in which the viewer is situated.

The perspective system also provided a means of highlighting the most important element of the composition as the orthogonals converge fairly precisely in the head of Christ. Leonardo avoided portraying the event as if viewed from below as was customary, and instead designed the composition according to an impossible ideal viewing point located at a distance of 8.80 metres from the painting at an approximate height of 4.5 metres above the ground


PS.

ST JOHN THE EVANGELIST IS TRADITIONALLY PAINTED TO LOOK FEMININE.

Answer 2

No. The book's a real page-turner, but while 'real' elements are included, it's fiction.

Historical, theological and art-historical background which he presented as fact, were products of an 'artistic licence' on overdrive.

You'll be glad to hear that I'm NOT now going to start 'citing chapter and verse....... but if you're curious;- I'm including a few things you can read.

'Cracking The Da Vinci Code' by Jimmy Atkin, CTS. ISBN 1-86082-368-8.

The New Testament. Matthew, Mark, Luke, John.You'll find the Last Supper covered near the end chapters of Matt, Lk, and Jn. (see link below).

The Truth about Jesus Not The Da Vinci Code' by Fr John Redford,CTS.ISBN 1-86082-369-6.

Also a couple of cbs boston articles. (links below) I found on

Answer 3

There is a theory, first publicized in 1997 in the pseudohistorical book The Templar Revelation by Lynn Picknett and Clive Prince, that the person to the left of Jesus (to his right) is actually Mary Magdalene, rather than the apostle John (as most art historians identify the figure). This theory is central to Dan Brown's popular 2003 novel The Da Vinci Code.

Answer 4

Strangely enough the artist, a certain Leonardo da Vinci, didn't leave a diagram behind telling us who each of the characters were.

However, we must assume that it was Jesus and his disciples. Mary Magdalen was not usually included.

By the way, you really must understand that the da Vinci Code is a work of fiction.

Answer 5

It is fact but only a fact of that painting da vinci has no way of knowing if she was present at the last supper

Answer 6

There were 12 male disciples.Iif a woman was shown, where is the 12th man? "The Da Vinci Code" is sheer nonsense. I've seen TV shows about it on History Channel. The whole thing is a recent hoax. Leonardo Da CVinci would spin in his grave iof he knew what Dan Brown wrote about him. Brown copies an earlier book and should be sued for plagiarism.

Answer 7

I do not believe Mary Magdelene was in the Last Supper depiction. I believe the image to the right of Jesus was John The Baptist. It has been proven that Leonardo Da Vinci painted men
feminine and that is why John the Baptist looks like a woman in
the picture. Leonardo DaVinci also painted Mona Lisa. Some
people believe this is a female depiction of himself.

Answer 8

The Last Supper represents the Eucharist for us today. No doubt there were women in the room. Why could Mary the mother of Jesus not be in the photo? If the painter wanted Mary Magdalene to be at the table, he would have painted her there. But she was not. No big deal. Many of the other disciples were married, but their wives were not portrayed as being at the table. The painting is symbolic.

Answer 9

The Da Vinci Code is a work of fiction.
There are several historical references but they are used within that fictional framework.

The person to Christ's right is John, the youngest apostle.

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Answer 10

well' no one living in this age can tell if the lady seating close to Jesus from his immediate right was Mary, but from the look of things, l think she was the one because she was the closest person to Christ. "according to Da Vince code she is his wife" and in the painting, there were 14 people in the last supper and the person seating next to Christ looks feminine. some may say its the picture of a young male but l strongly believe that was Mary because she does not have muscular structure on her face. and beside she has ear rings on her ears

Answer 11

The "DA Vinci code" book is pure fiction, so it is better for you to read some serious historic books to make yourself an idea.
Actually people think yes, others think no and as we have no way to ask Leonardo DA Vinci I guess we'll never know.