The Last Supper
For this assignment, students will trace the afterlife of Leonardo da Vincis masterwork, The Last Supper, by investigating a later (modern or contemporary period) work of art that reinterprets the original painting. In analyzing, comparing, and contrasting the form and content of the Renaissance original and the image that refers back to it, you will need to consider WHY as well as HOW the later artist chose to appropriate and rethink the original. What did they see there that compelled their own investigation? And finally, what do you see in The Last Supper that continues to speak to viewers across time and space, across the centuries?
Your PRIMARY FOCUS should be LOOKING & THINKING CRITICALLY about the two works of art in relation to each other & the time periods in which they were created. Primary sources should be the works of art themselves and relevant ideas in class and in the text, not outside research; i.e., this is a primarily a reflective rather than research project. However, if you use outside sources you MUST CITE THEM CORRECTLY both within the body of the text and in a works cited page using the CHICAGO STYLE.
CHOOSE 1 OF THESE ARTWORKS TO COMPARE TO THE ORIGINAL:
Suggested modern/contemporary works of art reinterpreting da Vincis Last Supper:
Last Supper of the Desert in Red MF Husain 2008
Last Supper Marisol 1982
Fateh al-Mourrades 1969 (multiple versions)
Last Supper of the Empty Plates, Last Supper Abdulsalam Haykal nd
Last Supper Faisal AbduAllah 1995 (multiple versions)
60 Last Suppers Andy Warhol (+ other versions)
Some Living American Women Artists: Last Supper Mary Beth Edelson 1972
Last Supper Salvador Dali 1955