The calendar on our refrigerator, which I got from Holy Cross Chapel, has a different work of art for each month. For March, it is “The Communion of the Apostles,” by Justus of Ghent. Jesus stands before the table with a paten in his hand, bearing small hosts, and he places one on the tongue of a kneeling disciple. I suppose in the 15th century it inspired folks to devotion. It just strikes me as anachronistic.
Of course, Leonardo’s “Last Supper” was anachronistic, too, depicting Jesus and the twelve as if they were in the same Dominican refectory as the viewers. But at least Leonardo realized it was a supper they were eating.
Among “Last Supper” paintings, I’ve always been partial to Ford Madox Brown’s, “Jesus Washing Peter’s Feet,” for its depiction of the reactions of the disciples to Jesus’ act of humility.
