Wednesday, October 01, 2008

What are we having for (Last) Supper?

Found at eternally cool, an analysis by art historian John Varriano in the journal Gastronomica of the food being eaten in da Vinci's painting The Last Supper:
"There are three large serving platters in the picture, and although the one in front of Christ is empty, the two before Andrew and Matthew—the fourth figures to his right and left—are heaped with food. The plate to our left appears to contain about half a dozen whole fish, while the one on the right is damaged to the point of being all but illegible. Fortunately, the preservation of the three small serving dishes on the right side of the composition is sufficiently good to suggest that we are looking at, in fact, sections of grilled eel garnished with orange slices. Other pieces of fruit—pomegranates perhaps, some still with their leaves attached—complete the menu along with plenty of bread and wine, the only sacramental necessities in any depiction of the Last Supper."

Read more at the Gastronomica website.

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