When referring to The Pietà we mean a particular refiguration of Our Lady that rocks in her arms the dead body of Christ just taken down from the cross.
7 Easter Paintings: Last Supper Paintings
Easter celebrates hope and new beginnings. It is a Christian holiday celebrating Jesus Christ’s great victory over death. Because of His sacrifice, we will all be able to live again.
Celebrate this wondrous spring holiday with inspiring Easter paintings. In this blog, we will feature Christian artwork. Particularly, artwork honoring the Last Supper and the humble act of Jesus washing the disciples’ feet. Each of our artists pours their personal witness and love of Jesus Christ into their work. That is what motivates them in their craft. Which Easter art images do you connect with?
One of the most significant events recorded in the life of Jesus Christ is the evening He spends with his disciples before entering the garden of Gethsemane. These Easter paintings illustrate the humility, leadership, and honor Jesus showed during some of His last hours.
In Remembrance of Me by Walter Rane
Walter takes a classic approach in his last supper art, with the dramatic lighting and flowing robes. We love the expressions and keen interest he illustrates in the disciples’ faces. Jesus also appears genuinely engaged with teaching and enjoying the presence of His friends.
Eventually, the artist draws our eye to an illuminated silhouette against the wall. It is Judas departing. The contrast of light and friendship to that dark and lonely figure speaks volumes of how, in the end, the adversary never supports those who choose to follow him.
Last Supper by Jorge Cocco
Jorge Cocco’s art is easily recognizable. He uses the principles of cubism in his paintings to illustrate deep, spiritual meaning. He has termed his style “sacrocubism”. In this last supper painting, patterned after Da Vinci’s classic, there are many layers of meaning.
For example, the light shining from the window highlights the scene and reflects its sacredness. At the same time, it lands on the shadowy figure of Judas, suggesting the sobering reality that even the adversary’s hidden works of darkness do not go unnoticed by God.
Like most abstract art, Jorge’s pieces are up to personal interpretation. What symbols or insights do you see?
Last Supper by Simon Dewey
Simon chose to focus on the Savior in his last supper art. We do not see the twelve disciples, only Jesus, as He breaks the bread, initiating the sacrament.
There is gentle pain expressed in His face as He breaks the bread. The New Testament teaches us that the broken bread was symbolic of the suffering that Christ’s physical body would soon go through. ( Matthew 26:26-28 ).
In Remembrance by Joseph Brickey
Similarly, Joseph Brickey chose to focus on Jesus Christ. In this last supper painting, we again only see Christ, who appears to be teaching those present “off-screen”.
We love the simple tones and style of this piece. It illustrates the Savior’s humility in obeying His Father in Heaven and reflects some of the strength it must have taken for Christ to devote time to speak with His disciples with the sort of events He knew were ahead of Him.
The Bread of Life by Eva Koleva Timothy
In these pieces of last supper art, we take an even more narrow focus. Eva chose to depict only the Savior’s hands as he breaks the bread. Her artistic choice allows us to be less concerned with historical or background details and more focused on the sacred act itself and what the symbolism means to us as individuals.
Remembrance by Annie Henrie Nader
Annie’s last supper painting does not depict any people at all. We see the goblet and the bread laid out on a stucco surface.
Annie has also included a small bunch of olive branches in the painting. These branches remind us of the olive’s Biblical symbolism, including the fact that the garden of Gethsemane was full of olive trees.
Jesus Washing the Disciples’ Feet Images
Jesus Christ showed immense humility in washing the disciples’ feet. Not only was it a sacred ordinance, but it demonstrated great respect. Many times, especially in today’s world of comparisons, we are tempted to see ourselves as less than we are or as better than others.
As God’s children, we all have immense worth. By Christ washing the disciples’ feet, He taught that we are worth the sacrifice He was about to make. He also taught the importance of seeing worth in others and in serving them. What insights do you draw from these images of Jesus washing the disciples’ feet?
As I Have Loved You by Eva Koleva Timothy
Characteristic of Eva’s style, we do not see any faces in this picture. The entire focus is on Christ’s hands as He washes the feet of one of the disciples.
The title, As I Have Loved You , emphasizes Christ’s example of service. When we remember how much love He shows us–even and especially when we are undeserving of it–it is hard to turn around and be cruel or unforgiving to others.
In Humility by Simon Dewey
Jesus washing the disciples’ feet images illustrate just how humbling such an act of service is, socially as well as physically. Simon depicts Christ kneeling on the ground.
His back is bent at His task, which itself is nothing glamorous. It is a reminder that if the Savior of the world is willing to stoop so low to serve us, we are capable of letting down some of our own walls to help those around us.
We love Easter. Not only for its spiritual and religious significance but also because it is the perfect time to be with family and friends. It is a time of hope, second chances, and reforging old relationships.
What Easter traditions do you and your friends or family have during this sacred time of the year? Share in the comments!
If you liked these Last Supper paintings, you might also like:
Easter Art: Gethsemane Pictures & Crucifixion Paintings
10+ Easter Paintings: Resurrection Art
The Last Supper by Leonardo da Vinci and The Last Supper by Giotto
We already mentioned The Last Supper, that is the last meal eaten by Jesus with its apostles, to celebrate the Jewish Easter. This was also the occasion where Jesus established the Eucharist, breaking the bread and offering wine as Its body and blood to His fellows. Numerous artists tried to represent the dramality of that particular episode during the past centuries: Jesus already knows that he will be arrested and will face never ending tortures the day after. He knows that one of His faithful fellows will betray Him, and He publicly declares it, exactly as He declares that Peter will disown Him three times. It is an announced drama, that relives in the faces and postures of the protagonists. Other than the most known Last Supper by Leonardo, Giotto figures among the artists that have pictured this episode as well. His homonymous fresco is accessible in the cycle of the “Cappella degli Scrovegni” in Padova. The subject of the Last Supper has always been much dear also to painters of sacred icons.
Buy Now:
This statue in maple wood is hand made by the artisans.
The Crucifixion by Giotto
The Cross is the main symbol for Christianity. It encloses the mystery of Salvation: the extreme sacrifice made by Our Lord to redeem the whole humanity from the Original Sin. All His sorrow, all His immeasurable love is in there. Even the subject of the Crucifixion has been recurrent in the art history since antiquity, both in paintings and sculptures. For example, we could think about Gothic art, the marvellous paintings of Cimabue, Greek and Russian icons, but also about Masaccio, Mantegna, Van Eyck up to Baroque art with Velázquez, Goya and Rembrandt. In particular, the “Ascent to Calvary”, fresco realized by Giotto between 1303 and 1305, shows all the desperation of the angels and of Our Lady, mixing the human sorrow coming from the tragic event to the heavenly one.
The Entombment of Christ by Caravaggio
The Entombment of Christ has deeply touched many artists, that have depicted the scene with multiple interpretations become legendary. It figures the moment when the body of Christ was taken from the Cross and welcomed into the caring arms of his loving ones. Let’s think about the famous sculptures by Benedetto Antelami, kept in the Cathedral of Parma, or at the paintings by Beato Angelico, Rubens and Caravaggio. This latter painted a version of the Entombment of Christ that reminds us The Pietà by Michelangelo both for the postures of some figures and the wealth of detail.
