The Paschal Mysteries And Fear Through Time And The Paintbrush

Before being moved to another part of the museum, Salvador Dali?s The Sacrament of the Last Supper(see Appendix A) hung on a stairway landing between the East and West Wings of the National Art Gallery in Washington, D.C. It was an amazing transition from the very modern to the very traditional exhibits in the different wings, with its depiction of the most traditional of stories in a very surreal and modern manner. More obviously, it was an awesome sensation to go suddenly from a vanilla colored stairway to this amazing, luminous painting that looms above and captures the viewer. Dali took a very traditional scene and made it into a very modern, very clear paint, whereas Rubens?s The Last Supper(see Appendix B) is a very traditional painting of the Baroque era. Through the organization of the paintings, the two different styles, and the content on the canvases, the two paintings exemplify the evolution of fear the world has undergone regarding Jesus and the Paschal mysteries through time.

Jesus Christ used the Last Supper as a means to explain to His followers what was to come and to prepare them for His destiny. The meal served

as a transition from His teachings to His sacrifice. In the two paintings here, Jesus is shown in the center of his followers, but each painting treats him differently in this position. Where Rubens shows Him as looking to God and holding up the bread, Dali has Christ pointing to God and has His other hand on His chest. He looks out and to the right of the observer, perhaps preoccupied with His flock. Above the table and guests, Dali refers to the crucifixion with the posed chest floating above the painting, where Rubens shows no allusion to the mysteries which followed the meal. Dali also portrays Jesus as a teacher, pointing out His father with his right hand and to Himself with his left, as though to make the connection clear to the present day viewer; the disciples are in front of Him in a perfect 12-sided polygon, their heads bowed to His Word. In contrast, Rubens shows Jesus amongst a jumbled group of Apostles who are clearly distressed by what has been said or is being said. Jesus is not teaching, rather looking to His Father for guidance as he breaks the Eucharist.

The style of a painting is important to its translation on the canvas, but the content of the painting is the most clear way to reach the audience. Rubens teaches a set of lessons in his piece: Christ was human, just look at the fear in his eyes; His disciples were not able to fulfill His requests, they were not able to even understand what He was saying. More subtlety, one sees Judas clearly nervous and guilt-ridden--the lesson here being that one cannot turn on God. Through paintings, this world can experience much more than it can with words alone, and in the modern age paintings are not as much of an attempt to teach a lesson as they were in the Baroque period. Dali endeavors to make the ancient story come alive. He floats Jesus slightly above the Apostles and has a glow abou

Some topics in this essay:
Paschal Mystery, Lord God, Christ God, Washington DC, Rubens Jesus, Jesus Dalis, Christ Supper, Fathers Jesus, Suppersee Appendix, Dali Rubens, confusion baroque, paschal mystery, style painting, jesus center, baroque era, painting style painting, paschal mysteries, painting style, suppersee appendix,