The Last Supper (detail of Judas, Christ and the Apostles) by Domenico Ghirlandaio (c.1486). Refectory of San Marco, Florence.
The Last Supper held a prominent place in Florentine art during the Renaissance. The subject was a favourite choice to decorate the refectory of monasteries and friaries. Ghirlandaio treated the story several times, this version being commissioned by the Dominicans for their refectory at San Marco. It is not surprising that the subject of the Last Supper became a staple of refectory decorations. The drama of Christ’s instruction to the apostles to remember him in the breaking of bread and the drinking of wine dramatises the centrality of the Eucharist in Christian life. The story also features the moment of Judas’s betrayal, which of course sets in motion the events that lead to Christ’s arrest, trial and crucifixion. Ghirlandaio locates Judas’ treachery at the centre of the narrative. As we see in the detail reproduced here, Judas sits isolated across from Christ and the other apostles. By showing Judas with a sop of bread in his hand, Ghirlandaio recalls Christ’s words that the one who will betray him “is he to whom I shall give this morsel when I have dipped”. In contrast to Judas, the youthful sleeping figure of St John the Evangelist (the one lying close to his breast) evokes John’s innocence and fidelity that will persist even after the other apostles have deserted Jesus. For the Dominicans and their lay visitors who dined in front of this fresco, the re-enactment of Judas’ betrayal must surely have caused a few pangs of soul-searching.
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