Vanity: "The Last Supper" in real life: Image of a face in St. Bartholomew's robe????

[RooRoobird20]

Hubby and I just had the privilege of viewing Da Vinci's "The Last Supper" in the Basilica of S. Mariua Delle Gazie (Milan, Italy). Even the best photographs of this masterpiece don't capture all the details.

Question: There appears to be the image of a face in the folds of St. Barthomew's robe, to the lower left of his hand. He is the leftmost figure in the painting.

St. Bartholmew was skinned alived and crucified upside down in the 8th century. The image in Da Vinci's painting is similar to St. Bartholomew as painted by Michelangelo in "The Last Judgement"--the skin of St. Bartholomew's face appears next to his figure.

Has anyone out there seen "The Last Supper" in person and observed the same thing? I can't find ANYTHING written on this anywhere and am "googled" out. I don't think hubby and I are "seeing Elvis" in half-melted refrigerator ice (LOL).

I would appreciate anyone's feedback on this.

Converted Catholic dittoes!!!

[martin_fierro]

There appears to be the image of a face in the folds of St. Barthomew's robe, to the lower left of his hand.

Sounds like someone ate a bad fungo.

[fzx12345]

For the confused, here's the pictures:

The Last Supper

Bartholomew

[RooRoobird20]

Have you seen the actual painting in person?

[Sloth]

St. Bartholmew was skinned alived and crucified upside down in the 8th century.

Wow, at 800 years old?

[RooRoobird20]

Thank you for posting the pictures. Again, the image of the face can sort of be seen in photos of “The Last Supper”. However, the image is quite distinct in person (two dark eye sockets and a mouth gaping open—not a joyful face)

I was just wondering if anyone who had actually been to see the painting noticed something similar.

[martin_fierro]

No, but I've been meaning to visit Our Lady of the Overpass Salt Stain.

[CarrotAndStick]

Can someone tell which region of the painting one needs to be looking at, to find the face?

[RooRoobird20]

That’s an excellent question and I’m glad you brought that up! LOL

According to what I could find, the St. Bartholmew skinned alive was not the same one in the painting (the original Bartholomew). There was a St. Bartholmew (named after the apostle) who was said to have brought Christianity to Armenia. It was this Bartholmew who was “flayed” (skinned alive) and crucified upside down in the 8th century.

[RooRoobird20]

LOL, where did that come from?

[Sherman Logan]

There was a St. Bartholmew (named after the apostle) who was said to have brought Christianity to Armenia. It was this Bartholmew who was “flayed” (skinned alive) and crucified upside down in the 8th century.

That doesn't work very well either. Armenia declared Christianity the state religion in 301, the first nation to do so.

[RooRoobird20]

Look at the upper left hand corner of the table. The face image is to the immediate left, but you can’t really see it that well in this photo (or any photo I can find).

[fatima]

Try this,
http://www.haltadefinizione.com/en/

[RooRoobird20]

I think you’re right. I’m in the wrong century. Mea Culpa, Mea Culpa, Mea Maxima Culpa! LOL

I read the 8th century thing somewhere on the internet, but should have read more sources of information.

From Wikipedia:

“Along with his fellow Apostle Jude, Bartholomew is reputed to have brought Christianity to Armenia in the 1st century. Thus both saints are considered the patron saints of the Armenian Apostolic Church. There is also a local tradition that he was martyred at the site of the Maiden Tower in Baku, Azerbaijan, by being flayed alive and then crucified head down.”

The statute of St. Bartholmew in the Duomo in Milan was done by a student of Da Vinci’s. It is chillingly tragic—a skinned man draped in a vestment of his own skin. Da Vinci was into dissecting cadavers and believed if an artist knew human anatomy, he could paint/sculpt the human body better.

On the other hand, Michelangelo would look at a block of marble and “see” what was already inside it. Then he’d pick up the chisel and hammer and get started.

[martin_fierro]

It's probably that shoulder part on the guy on the far left, eh?

[ItsOurTimeNow]

“An evil and adulterous generation seeks for a sign, but no sign will be given to it except the sign of Jonah” Matthew 16:4

[FReepapalooza]

Click in on the photo of the Last Supper, and please tell me “whose hand” is holding the knife between the third and fourth subjects to the left?

[RooRoobird20]

Hmmmm......I wasn’t looking for a “divine sign” as you’re implying. It was just something interesting we saw in the painting and I was looking for background information. Da Vinci could have painted it intentionally, or it could have been added by the many many “touch-ups” done over the centuries.

It’s common knowledge that artists like Da Vinci and Michelangelo would include things in sacred paintings that are unexpected. For example, there is something small and very unflattering painted into the Sistine Chapel ceiling secretly directed at Pope Julius (whom Michelangelo despised). I forget exactly what it was, but our tour guide pointed it out when she took us inside the Sistine Chapel last year. Our tour guide was a professionally licensed (by the country of Italy) guide and had a degree in art history.

[RooRoobird20]

The apostle on the far left is Bartholmew. The face image is just to the left of his hand which is on the table. The dark eye sockets start at the level of Bartholomew’s wrist.

[fzx12345]

Here's a quick-and-dirty "annotated" version (sorry about the compression artifacts):