What does The Da Vinci Code have to do with Leonardo's
painting "The Last Supper"?
Several outlandish claims are being made in reference
to this famous painting by Dan Brown in his novel, The Da Vinci Code. - here are some examples:
Dan Brown uses the painting to promote the idea that
Da Vinci painted Mary Magdalene into "the last supper", at the right hand of
Jesus: P.243: The person to the right of Jesus is recognized by Sophie
in the book as a woman:
"The individual had flowing red hair, delicate folded hands,
and the hint of a bosom. It was, without a doubt ... female".
"That's a woman!", exclaimed Sophie.
Brown is fond of saying that we see only what we want to see. Take care to note that
Leonardo portrayed other masculine biblical characters with a feminine appearance - in his work
Saint John theBaptist (c. 1413-1416)4, St. John the
Baptist - a very ruddy character according to biblical records - is depicted as a feminine character with long
flowing hair and delicate hands. Is it any surprise that John the Apostle
might be depicted in a similar fashion? And if one inspects "The Last Supper"
carefully, there is in fact is no hint of a bosom - unless one wants to see that in
the painting.
He further promotes the notion that the "holy grail" is
missing from the painting because Leonardo was trying to communicate a
secret message - ie., that "the Holy Grail" was not a physical drinking cup,
but rather the womb of Mary Magdalene! But why do we expect to
see a large chalice emblazoned with the letters "The Holy Grail"? Only
if we fall for legend and popular lore. Look closely at the painting,
and you will see that Jesus, as well as His followers, all have drinking cups. Jesus' cup ("the holy grail") is next to his left hand, while His right hand
is extended over a piece of bread.1
First Things First
First, lets get some basic facts straight.
Leonardo was not at "the last supper", which
occurred some 1,500 years before he was born. He was painting his
interpretation, in accordance with his painting style, of what took place at "the last supper". If we want the facts,
we have to go back to the earliest historical records of what transpired - the
gospels.
Leonardo was not a bible scholar, and indeed may
have had his own agenda in terms of notions he wanted to portray in his
paintings. If we want the facts, we have to go back to the earliest
historical records.
The earliest historical records (the New Testament gospels) record
that Jesus and the twelve apostles were present at the last supper.
There are also twelve persons at the table in the painting, plus Jesus. There is
no indication in the gospel records that Mary Magdalene was present, much less seated at the right
hand of Jesus.
Dan Brown makes the point in his book that the reason
people don't notice that the person in the painting next to Jesus is a woman
is because of our "preconceived notions" (p 243). Is it possible that
Dan Brown has a preconceived notion about what he wants to see in the
painting? Perhaps he sees Mary Magdalene there because he wants to see her
there. Perhaps others of us are doing the same thing.
The Gospels Show that Mary Was
Not Present at The Last Supper
According to the three synoptic gospels, the twelve apostles
were present with Jesus at the last supper. No mention is made of Mary
Magdalene or anyone else being present at the supper:
Matthew 26:20: "Now when evening had come, He sat
down with the twelve."
Mark 14:17: "In the evening He came with the twelve.
Now as they sat and ate ..."
Luke 22:14: "And when the hour had come, He sat
down, and the twelve apostles with Him."
The twelve apostles that appear in the painting "The
Last Supper" are listed in Mark 3:16-19 as:
Simon Peter
James (son of Zebedee)
John (the brother of James, surnamed "Son of Thunder")
Andrew
Philip
Barthalomew
Matthew
Thomas
James (the son of Alphaeus)
Thaddaeus
Simon the Cananite
Judas Iscariot
John's gospel records the last supper activities in John
Chapter 13. Although it doesn't specifically say "the twelve" sat down
with Him, as in the synoptic gospels, we may infer from the context that it was
the twelve who were present. There is no mention in John's gospel
that Mary Magdalene was present. Here is the sequence of events as
recorded in John:
V2: "supper being ended" -- supper wraps up
V4: [Jesus] "rose from supper and laid aside His garments,
took a towel and girded Himself."
V5-11: Jesus washes his apostles feet
V12: Jesus sits down again
V13-17: Jesus explains why He washed their feet - to
provide them with an example of what it means to be a servant
V18-19: Jesus mentions a prophecy concerning the betrayal
by Judas that would soon happen
V 21: Jesus announces the betrayal to those present:
"Most assuredly, I say to you, one of you will betray Me."
V 22: "Then the disciples looked at one another,
perplexed about whom He spoke."
V 23-25: These verses show that a male was the one
leaning on Jesus' breast, and that Peter was asking this disciple who it
was that Jesus was speaking about: "Now there was leaning on Jesus'
bosom one of His disciples, whom Jesus loved. Simon Peter
therefore motioned to him to ask who it was of whom He spoke.
Then, leaning back on Jesus' breast, he said to Him, "Lord, who
is it?" This clearly shows that the person to Jesus right was a
male, precluding even the possibility that the person could have been Mary
Magdalene.
Who Were The Three Persons to Jesus' Right?
Noted art critic Leo Steinberg has analyzed Leonardo's "The
Last Supper" in minute detail in his work "Leonardo's Incessant Last Supper".
According to Steinberg, the painting suffered from "the impoverishment of its
content down to pure psychodrama".2 Leonardo was painting
his interpretation of two key events that the gospels record occurred at "the
last supper"- the consecration of the Eucharist, and the betrayal of Jesus to
the authorities by Judas.
According to the Dictionary of Art, the consecration of
the Eucharist is evident by Christ's gesture toward the bread and wine, and this
would have been readily understood by Leonardo's contemporaries.3
The betrayal of Jesus by Judas is evident in the way the disciples
are depicted. According to Steinberg, St. Andrew (from left to right) is
followed by Peter, Judas and John. "the three whose identity in the mural was
never doubted".2 There are distinct qualities about each of
these apostles:
Peter's intense lurching forward, holding a knife
(prefiguring his use of the sword later in the Garden when Jesus was taken
Judas recoiling and grasping the bag of money (Judas
was entrusted with the group's money - see John 13:29)
John's youthful appearance and contemplative pose
According to art critic Steinberg, the grouping of Peter,
Judas and John is purposeful. These three had key roles in the Passion of
Christ: Judas would later betray Jesus, Peter would deny Him (thrice), and
John - "the disciple whom Jesus loved" - was the only Apostle who remained at
the cross when Jesus was crucified (John 19:26-27).
Steinberg also notes that there are "significant pairs" portrayed in the painting. For example, Peter and John are depicted as a
pair with their heads together, illustrating their close companionship (Peter
and John are often mentioned together in the gospels (see Luke 22:8)).
This pose depicts their "active and contemplative life".2
Furthermore, art critics interpret the pose of Peter and John one that connoted
trust and intimacy. One observation is that the pose conveys Peter's
surprise, and him asking John to repeat what Jesus has just said, so stunned was
the head apostle at the prophecy of betrayal.1
The Evidence Shows That John Was The Disciple "Whom Jesus Loved"
The Da Vinci Code tries to make the case that the Disciple
sitting at the right hand of Jesus - which the gospel of John refers to the one
"whom Jesus loved" - is non other than Mary Magdalene. We noted
above that in John's gospel, V 23-25, that this person is a male - not a
female. So then who is this disciple?
John's gospel records that it was a male disciple, most
probably John - the author of John's gospel - as the one "whom Jesus loved":
John 19:25-27 These two verses describe the people
who were at the cross when Jesus was crucified. This group included
Mary Magdalene, other women, AND a man referred to as "the disciple
whom He loved":
"Now there stood by the cross of Jesus Him mother, and His mother's sister,
Mary the wife of Clopas, and Mary Magdalene. When Jesus therefore saw
His mother, and the disciple whom He loved standing by, He said to His
mother: "Woman, behold you son!" Then He said to the disciple,
"Behold your mother!" And from that hour the disciple took her into
his own home.
John 20:2, 8 Here Mary Magdalene is running back from
the empty tomb to tell the news to Peter and "the other disciple whom Jesus
loved" Again, it is stated that this is a male:
V2: "Then she ran and came to Simon Peter, and to the other disciple,
whom Jesus loved.."
V8: "Then the other disciple, who came to the tomb first, went in also; and
he saw and believed."
John 21:7 Here again that disciple is with Peter (the
"pair" mentioned above):
"Therefore that disciple whom Jesus loved said to Peter: "It is the
Lord!"
John 21:20 In this verse it is reiterated that John
was the one leaning on Jesus' breast at the last supper:
"Then Peter, turning around, saw the disciple whom Jesus loved following,
who also had leaned on His breast at the supper, and said "Lord, who is the
one who betrays you?"
Other Da Vinci Code Claims Refuted
Brown claims that
the open "V" space between John and Jesus is the focal point of the painting, and
represents the Grail and the womb of Mary Magdalene. But upon inspection
this does not hold up to scrutiny. Jesus, at the center of the painting
and framed by the dramatic backdrop of three windows, is, according to
noted art critic Steinberg, clearly "the focal point of the painting".
Conclusions
Leonardo was was interpreting in his own style his
vision of activities that transpired at the last supper
It should not surprise us that John, seated to the right
of Jesus, was portrayed by Leonardo with long flowing hair and a gentle, if feminine,
appearance. Leonardo was known to have painted other biblical characters
in a feminine manner.
The evidence shows that the Leonardo's The Last Supper
was depicting two key activities that were taking place at the time:
the consecration of the Eucharist, and the betrayal of Jesus to the
authorities by Judas. There is no evidence that it had anything to do
with portraying a relationship between Mary Magdalene and Jesus.
There is no evidence that Mary Magdalene was even
present at the last supper. However all three synoptic gospels state
that the twelve apostles were with Jesus at the event.
The "disciple whom Jesus loved" who is depicted as
listening to Peter in the painting is referred to as a male in John's gospel,
and thus could not have been Mary Magdalene. Since this same
"loved disciple" was present at the cross in addition to Mary Magdalene, this
disciple could not have been anyone other that John the apostle.
The person portrayed to Jesus' right in Leonardo's "The Last Supper"
painting is non other than the effeminate appearing John the apostle -
not Mary Magdalene (although many may wish it to be otherwise).
See The Da Vinci Code Last Supper For Yourself
Link to high resolution of Leonardo Da Vinci's "The Last
Supper" (with zoom capability):
was, without a doubt ... female".
"That's a woman!", exclaimed Sophie. 
"Leonardo's Incessant Last Supper".
According to Steinberg, the painting suffered from "the impoverishment of its
content down to pure psychodrama".2 Leonardo was painting
his interpretation of two key events that the gospels record occurred at "the
last supper"- the consecration of the Eucharist, and the betrayal of Jesus to
the authorities by Judas.