Title

Last Supper

Generic classification

Object

Date

Century

Cultural context / style

Dimensions

Material

Technique

Iconography / Theme

Provenance

Current location

Inventory Number in Current Collection

Object history

s. XII-1922 Ermita de San Baudelio de Berlanga (Casillas de Berlanga, Soria)

1926 London, Gabriel Dereppe

1927 New York

1927 Boston, Museum of Fine Arts

Description

The scene comes from the cycle of the life of Christ located in the upper part of the walls of the Mozarabic hermitage of San Baudelio de Berlanga (Casillas de Berlanga, Soria), built at the end of the 11th century and occupying half of the available space of the entrance wall, being accompanied by the representation of the Entrance of Christ into Jerusalem (Indianapolis Museum of Art), which began the cycle of the Passion, the most extensive of the mural decoration. The orientation of the wall, to the NW and in the light of the sunset, probably influenced the decision to place these scenes in that place, while the Healing of the Blind and Resurrection of Lazarus (New York, Metropolitan Museum of Art), scenes with which the cycle begins, and the resurrection of Christ represented by the three Marys before the tomb, appeared on the front wall, with NE orientation.

The Last Supper is presided over by Christ, flanked by five apostles to his right and six to his left, with Saint John asleep on his lap, showing a clear hierarchical arrangement, as the two oldest apostles flank Christ, with Saint Peter, situated immediately to the right of Jesus, being recognized by his bald head. Judas appears on the other side of the table and genuflecting while receiving the piece of bread from the hands of Jesus, who identifies him as the apostle who will betray him. All the figures are haloed, except for Judas and St. John, no doubt so as not to hide the face of Christ. The frontal disposition of the figures, their isocephaly, the repetition of the form of the folds on the table (represented as if they were arranged on a vertical surface) as well as the placement at regular intervals of the dishes with fish (and not with lamb or bitter lettuce or unleavened bread as the biblical account specifies) increase the solemnity of the scene and its liturgical character.

This marked rhythm also appears in the clothing of the attendants, alternating a figure with red tunic and blue cloak with others wearing light blue tunic and brown cloak or red tunic and green cloak (St. Peter, St. John and the penultimate apostle to the right of the viewer), in the same way the colors of the nimbuses alternate, some of a pink tone and others yellow and as if this were not enough, each bearded apostle is followed by a beardless one. The feet of those seated at the table create a zigzag pattern that makes the composition uniform, and four of the apostles perform a similar gesture, raising their arms and pointing with their index finger at Christ.

But despite this apparent monotony the artist includes a series of details that enliven the composition, which appears slightly shifted to the left, with the apostles to the right of the viewer having more space. To break the symmetry, the color of the tunics that appears under the table does not correspond with the upper part of the protagonists, since Christ shows reddish sleeves but a green lower part of the tunic and also the apostles, with the exception of St. Peter, turn their heads as if they were talking to each other, showing the surprise that followed the announcement of the betrayal, as recorded in the Gospels. The background of the scene shows bands of different colors, as occurs in the Mozarabic miniature and in cycles of Romanesque frescoes such as those of Tahull or Bagüés.

The dating of the frescoes has been a much debated topic since for some authors the cycle of the lower part of the walls would be earlier and would show a similar aesthetic to the Mozarabic miniatures. It is currently thought that the cycle was painted in the first half of the 12th century. The great quality of the mural paintings of San Baudelio de Berlanga and their points in common with the paintings of the Vera Cruz hermitage in Maderuelo (Madrid, Museo Nacional del Prado), have led to think that they were made by the same itinerant workshop that may have worked before in Aragonese and Catalan territory, as critics have also noticed stylistic similarities with the paintings of Tahull.

Locations

• ca. 1129 - 1926

  hermitage

  Hermitage of San Baudelio de Berlanga, Soria (Spain)

• 1926 - 1927

  private collection

  Gabriel Dereppe, París / Londres / Nueva York *

• 1927 - present XX^th c.

  museum

  Boston Museum of Fine Arts, Boston (United States)