“…at the Last Supper, Jesus instituted the Sacrament of the Eucharist”
The Mystical Supper
The Solemnity of the Most Holy Body and Blood of Christ, also known as Corpus Christi, was formalized in the 13th century. It commemorates the establishment of the sacrament of the Eucharist. But love for the Eucharist goes back even further.
There are many iconographic patterns for the depiction of the Eucharist but patterns for the event in the Upper Room tend to fall into two categories.
The Mystic Supper shows the event as a meal. The apostles are seated around a table with Jesus as the largest and most prominent person. In the image above He is the only one shown with a halo. Typically the chalice is either on the table or held in Christ’s hand. Saint John is seated next to Jesus. In contrast to the other apostles, John has no beard and his hair is long (shoulder length) to represent his youth. He often leans toward Jesus or actually rest his head on the chest of the Lord.
Judas is shown dipping a morsel of food into the bowl, or as here, set apart from the others.
The Communion of the Apostles
The icon of the Communion of the Apostles, by contrast, shows the event more closely resembling a celebration of the Mass or the Divine Liturgy. Christ is shown in the center, often duplicated, dispensing his Eucharistic Body those gathered on the left side, and His Blood to those on the right. The apostles are usually eleven in number, five on one side and six on the other. But as the point of the icon is to show an eternal moment in sacred time, angels and other saints may be shown.
Using the iconographic pattern as its substrate, the Gothic form draws from both patterns and occasionally incorporates both.
A Gothic Interpretation
This illumination is from a manuscript dating to A.D. 1175. It is held at the Morgan Library in New York City. The original is approximately 7” x 10”. Consistent with the Gothic style it is framed by an elaborate border. In the corners of the border are four heads. It is safe to assume that anytime four persons are depicted in a New Testament image, it is probably a reference to the Four Evangelists, especially when they are not directly interacting with the event.
An arch over the top of the composition represents a roof, the event takes place indoors. Jesus stands at the center, the apostles are arranged on either side of Him. In His right hand He holds His Eucharistic Body. In his left He holds the chalice of His Blood. An apparently drowsy John is seated in front of him, resting his head on his hand.
This is a fine model to adapt as we seek to revive the Gothic style. It beautifully underscores the principle that at the Last Supper, Jesus instituted the Sacrament of the Eucharist, giving us His Body and Blood, that we may have eternal life.
In our efforts to revive the Gothic Style we need to look at the past with a discerning eye. What do we embrace, what do we reject, and what can we improve upon?
In this work I think the way the artist handled the halos is distracting. It seems they were added or deleted according to what the artist thought would work best in the space he had. The halos are different colors and not all of the apostles have halos.
We may imagine that work of this sort was carried out by very pious monks, laboring away in a scriptorium with every line and every brushstroke accompanied by prayer. But the truth is that manuscript production was outsourced very early in the period. Each aspect of its production was a specialty. Preparing the pages, writing the text, painting the images, etc. were most likely done by separate workshops and most likely by lay people.
Artists were guided by tradition and as now, often had to deal with the whims of the client, deadlines, budgets, and of course management issues. It may be that in the case of this manuscript the halos were not seen as that important, or perhaps it was a detail that was simply overlooked by the painter.
In revving a Gothic tradition, when we have a question, it is always a good idea to look at the iconographic tradition and how the question was answered. Although icons that are hundreds of years old can be instructive, I would rely more on the revived tradition with its more direct guidelines. Here we find that, ordinarily, the apostles are not shown with halos until Pentecost and the events following. This would solve a great many problems in depictions of the Mystical Supper and the Communion of the Apostles. In particular it would address the problem of Judas.
Of the twelve apostles depicted here, Four of them do not have halos and it appears that Judas is one that does. In paintings of the last supper Judas is distinguished in a variety of ways. He may be the only one without a halo. He may have a halo that is darker than the others. If we follow the iconographic tradition, with a little Gothic tradition thrown in, there would be no halos and Judas would be distinguished as the only figure separated from the others by being placed on the other side of the table.
We cannot know for certain the state of the soul of Judas. The Gospel of Matthew tells us that he regretted his actions and was filled with remorse. He was so distraught that he took his own life. Was he reconciled with God at the end? He was one of the twelve and travelled with Jesus. Jesus must have chosen him for a reason. It seems appropriate to portray Judas with some ambiguity but still distinguish him from the others.
We need not look on past work as sacrosanct. Not all the surviving work of the past has the same artistic merit or “good theology.” One of our challenges in reviving the style is to copy with understanding. Study the work of the past and do not be afraid to question why something was done in a certain way. If, as an artist, you can improve upon it then do so.
Pax vobiscum