The Last Supper by Tintoretto (Interpretation and Analysis)

Last Supper
Source: Wikipedia

I’ve written many times about my love of Mannerist painting. It’s a particularly weird, yet dramatic genre of painting, both qualities that endear it to me and make it continually interesting to modern viewers.

The Venetian artist Tintoretto was one of the most famous Mannerist artists of his time. One of his most striking pieces is his interpretation of the Last Supper, the biblical scene in which Christ shares one last meal with his apostles before his crucifixion. Because of its theological significance to Christians, the Last Supper has traditionally been a common subject for Western artists, particularly during the Renaissance and Counter-Reformation periods.

Leonardo da Vinci’s version of the Last Supper has long been one of the most famous paintings in the world, a classic of the Renaissance movement. In many ways, da Vinci’s Last Supper represents the standard practices for depicting the subject at the time. All of the figures face the viewer, sitting at a long table. Christ is always in the center, drawing the viewer’s attention and highlighting his narrative importance.

Tintoretto’s Last Supper challenges this approach. Instead of the traditional, frontal view, Tintoretto places the dinner table off center, making it an object of secondary importance in a dark and chaotic room. Instead, the center of the painting is dominated by waiters and servants, rushing to bring food to the diners. In the foreground, a dog laps water out of a basin that seems to be being used to wash dishes. Overhead, wisps of smoke from the oil lamp form the outlines of hazy angels. Christ is still seated at the center of the table, but because of the artist’s compositional choices, his prominence in the piece is much reduced. He is primarily recognizable by the blinding corona of light the surrounds his head.

Unlike da Vinci’s serene and somber Last Supper, Tintoretto’s painting is overwhelming, packed with raw energy and visual confusion. However, when compared, it is probably Tintoretto’s Last Supper that holds the eye of the viewer longest. Mannerist art functions by intentionally making the viewer uncomfortable. It is this unsettling aspect of the genre that allows it to challenge viewers to understand the subject matter in new ways. In his highly original and imaginative interpretation of the Last Supper, Tintoretto certainly succeeds in provoking a visceral emotional response from viewers.

Disclaimer: I’m not an art historian or an expert on this topic. The above is my opinion, based on my interpretation of my foreknowledge of art and history. If I’ve done any additional research, I’ll note it above.