Sunday, May 24, 2020

The Ascension of the Lord

John S. Copley, Ascension, 1775 (Image: Wikipedia).
From Acts 1:9-11:
When Jesus had said this, the apostles saw him lifted up, and a cloud caught him away from their sight. And as they strained their eyes towards heaven, to watch his journey, all at once two men in white garments were standing at their side. Men of Galilee, they said, why do you stand here looking heavenwards? He who has been taken from you into heaven, this same Jesus, will come back in the same fashion, just as you have watched him going into heaven.

Friday, May 08, 2020

The Last Supper


Leonardo da Vinci, The Last Supper, 1497-1498 (from Web Gallery of Art)

Leonardo da Vinci's masterpiece, The Last Supper, is on the wall in the refectory (dining room) of Santa Maria delle Grazie in Milan.  According to the Web Gallery of Art,
The real dining room appears to be continued in the perspectivally painted one, but on a higher level: the prior's table is upstaged by that of Christ and the apostles above. Christ and the apostles seem to have taken their place in the monk's dining hall in Milan, as it were. The emphatic gestures of the larger-than-life-size, heroic figures would have contrasted once with the quiet, controlled meal of the monks. A sublime, sacred drama overshadowed the worldly meal and focused the brothers' attention religious meditation. Leonardo depicted a specific moment of the Last Supper: Christ has just announced that he will be betrayed by one of the disciples, and the community of apostles reacts with agitation and questioning.
That is a coincidence: my mother's parents had a copy of this in their kitchen, above their kitchen table.