last supper

[KNadeau86]

who is the woman in the painting the last supper

[marchantino]

apparently its mary magdelene.could have possibly been christ's wife they supposedly had children too.so i heard tell.if its true it goes some way to explain why the catholic church locked da vinci away as a heretic.

[Sylday]

Assuming you're referring to Leonardo da Vinci's painting - there are thousands of other paintings of the Last Supper - it's very doubtful that there is a woman in the painting at all. True, the face of the figure next to Christ looks a little effeminate; but the painting has so deteriorated over the centuries, and has been restored so many times, that it is impossible to say what the face looked like when Leonardo first painted it. In any case, it is quite ridiculous to think that the Dominican monks for whom it was painted would have accepted a painting depicting a woman as one of the disciples, which would have been a complete departure from the bible.

[vittoria]

I am reading The Da Vinci Code at the moment and in this book I have read for the first time ever, the idea that one of the disciples in the painting was in fact Mary Magdalene, married to Jesus. I think the book is good fun, but not to be taken at face value. I went to see the painting some 24 years ago and I was very disappointed, it was so ruined you could barely see the picture. I gather it has been restaured, but I don't think they can put back what has been worn away by time. So I don't think you can tell with certainty that there's a woman in the picture. I have to say I have never before heard that Leonardo was locked away as a heretic. Galileo was. Can I have some more details on Leonardo please?

[kellyoh1415]

I would venture to say, beyond a shadow of a doubt; that it was in fact Mary Magdalene seated next to Jesus.

[galltin]

How can you? For all the reasons explained above there is certainly a lot of doubt on the subject.

[tartanwiz]

There is no evidence whatsoever that Mary Magdalene was married to Jesus, marchantino. None at all. But people believe what they want to believe.

[marchantino]

never said there was did i,read my answer properly tartanwiz.

[Brugel]

Sylday is quite right. It's nonsense to suggest that there's a woman in the painting- such a thing would never have been accepted. And I've also never heard of Leonardo being locked away- he was regarded in even his own time as a genius and viewed universally with great affection (even if he was left-handed!)

[Jackanory]

If it is a woman sitting next to Jesus, then where is the twelfth disciple?

[tamta]

I believe that it is most possible for the the person next to jesus to be a woman. Who is to say it isn't in fact Mary Magdalene? It is a very possible suggestion and one that I have come to agree with quite aggressively.

[tamta]

Unless Mary is a possible disciple, there is an arm within the painting the last supper that belongs to no visual body. That arm holding the knife could very well be the arm of the 12th disciple.

[Jackanory]

Thankyou tamta.

[Jackanory]

Have just visited the following site & found it really interesting: http://www.lisashea.com/hobbies/art/lastsupper.html

[hampshire]

If you go to: http://www.artchive.com/artchive/L/leonardo/lastsupp.jpg.htm l There is a copy of the original painting, double click on it and you can zoom right in to 200%, and if you count the disciples there are twelve, I think the one referred to is about three to the left of Jesus (looking at the picture) but the bible says there were twelve disciples and no mention of a woman being there. But I cannot find the spare arm that is mentioned.

[Cuddles]

It could only be speculation - Leonardo is the only one who could really answer this one. However, the person next to Jesus does look very feminine.

[KittyGrl44]

I really think that the lady in the painting is Mary, and I don't doubt that she was Jesus' wife. I've read The Da Vinci Code, and it makes perfect sense to me. First of all, when people say that that could not possibly be a woman next to Jesus, what I want to know is, why can't it be? There is written proof that Da Vinci was part of a religion where the belief was that Mary was Jesus' wife, so why wouldn't he put that belief into his painting? And I agree that the church wouldn't have allowed such a radical belief to be stated publicly so if it was a woman painted, they would have had Da Vinci locked up. But think about it... did you notice that it was a woman next to Jesus until someone told you??? The woman next to him probably wasn't noticed until the painting was studied later.

[eudental]

Don't forget one thing! The da Vinci Code is a fiction, written to be sold! Bestsellers post new, rebellious ideas to sell. The author is very clever in combining different myths with facts. Actually, I heard a story that Maria Magdalena is on her knees in front of Jesus to wash his feet, but the catholic conspirancy did not allow this prostitute inside this painting and the monks opened a door instead to shortcut their way to their dining room   (refectorium)!

[austyc]

John the Evangalist was known to have a very young appearance, and could possibly be mistaken in some paintings as a woman.