Top 200 Photos: #45

An interesting Top 200 Photo

photo #45 is:

Titled “The Last Supper”: this is, I think, my most ambitious digital composition. I was deep in my 365 project and I didn’t know what to do for the 264th day. I had thought of this idea once before, but not in any depth. Originally I thought about doing it at the dining room table so it would be closer to the famous painting. But it turned out that even with my new wide angle lens, (B&H link) I wouldn’t be able to fit 13 copies of myself in that room. So I moved it to the living room. There is one pita chip on each plate to represent the bread. And one cup of wine from the tradition that one cup was passed around. As you know, if you’ve been following this Top 200 Photos series, I’m no stranger to composite photos. But this time I wanted to do it right. So I found thirteen different shirts to wear. Because it might be a little hard to notice at the size at which this photo is posted, notice the text on Jesus’ shirt. (If you don’t get it, read on)

For the uninitiated, The Last Supper is the Passover dinner Jesus had with his apostles in Jerusalem. This is where the eucharist comes from. (The bread and wine representing the body and blood of Christ, respectively) At this dinner he revealed to his apostles that one of them would betray him. They were incredulous. That is the moment that Leonardo da Vinci chose to capture in his famous painting. While I used the painting for some inspiration, I didn’t want to do a straight copy of it. So this is what I came up with.

To finish up the story: At least one Biblical account (remember there are four gospels, each focusing on slightly different details) has the apostles ask Jesus, one by one, if they were the one to betray him. When it finally comes to Judas Iscariot, Jesus answers “yes” and he leaves the room to setup the capture. This is the moment captured in the Leonardo da Vinci painting that was my jumping off point for this photo.

Later Jesus goes to pray with some of the apostles to pray and at the Garden of Gethsemane Judas arrives and betrays Jesus with a kiss. (Having previously arranged with the Roman authorities that he would kiss the man they were to arrest (kissing was a common greeting, there is nothing special about that act)) Jesus is then arrested, tried, and crucified. (And, according to Christians, comes back from the dead)

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