DALI'S SACRAMENT OF THE LAST SUPPER | KAIROS GLOBAL | JULY 2024

Author: Shaji Joseph Arakkal

Intro: Shaji Joseph Arakkal writes about Salvador Dali’s unique and famed painting of the Last Supper, and interprets the meaning of its intriguing aspects.

‘The Sacrament of the Last Supper’ is a painting created by Salvador Dali in 1955 on a canvas measuring 267x166.7 cm. The subject matter of this great painting is the Last Supper of Christ. Here, Jesus is portrayed clean shaven and is seated at the centre of a long table, while his twelve disciples gathered around him with their heads bowed with awe and respect towards their teacher.

Christ’s face, positioned in front of the sunlight amidst the horizon, is radiant with his glory. The interplay of shadow and light reflected in the face of other characters is from the light radiated from the setting sun.

Salvador Dali’s painting differs from other depictions of the Last Supper, particularly that of Leonardo Da Vinci during the period 1495-1498, and followed by other artists, as it is embedded with in-depth meaning and spiritual interpretations. A theological scholar’s wisdom and knowledge is highly evident in this painting. A spectator can grasp this by viewing it from a meditative perspective. Dali’s painting is able to provide deeper spiritual knowledge that might not be possible by watching a full-length movie or by reading a spiritual book.

 The foremost amongst the hidden meanings is the resurrection of Christ that is connected with the painting of the Last Supper. Just as the risen sun amidst the ocean surrounded by mountains and sky, Christ is seated amidst the table with the same majesty and glory while establishing the sacraments few hours before his death. However, the disciples are not equally majestic. Another mysterious fact is the proclamation that Christ is God, the immortal immaculate man. His immortal body with his outstretched arms from above the water which is the source of life echoes the first part of the Biblical verse, ‘The spirit of God was hovering over the waters.’ It symbolises the creative brilliance of an irrational composition.

Joined to Christ’s left chest and to his immediate left are two ships lying in the water and there is another ship on the painting’s left end that is on the shore. It conveys the message, Go into all the world and preach the gospel to all creation (Mark 16:15). Christ said these words to his disciples when he appeared to them after his resurrection. The left hand is directed towards him, and the gesture of his right index finger brings attention towards his resurrected body. The broken loaves and the half-filled wine in the transparent chalice are the sacrifice of his body and blood. It is also the new covenant that he gave to the world through his disciples.

 ‘The first Holy Eucharist on earth is envisioned as a sacred expression of humanity’s greatest joy. This practice is not literary; but is practised through imaginative means. In my desire to classicise modern art, my aim was to incorporate its experimental creativity into Zurbaran’s¹ mystic realism.’ - Salvador Dali

Notes

¹ Fransisco de Zubaran (1598-1664) was an artist/painter of the Spanish Golden Age.

Shaji Joseph Arakkal has been a graphic designer for 39 years. He lives in Ernakulam, India with his wife Shoba. They have three children, Niranjana, Nirmal and late Niveditha