The Catechetical Review - Communicating Christ for a New Evangelization

Learning through Art: The Last Supper by Jacob Copista

Authored by Dr. Caroline Farey in Issue #30.1 of The Sower
This is a very strange little picture and for some, perhaps, not very attractive. It is not well drawn or painted and the blue paint is flaking off in places although it is not old. The figures of the disciples are roughly drawn and the two figures in the front are placed with their feet dangling a little foolishly as they perch on the edge of their respective benches. There are other scenes of the Last Supper in the Compendium rather more finely painted, and there are other icons of this style executed with greater dignity and care. So why has this depiction been chosen? It is intriguing that such a poor, strange painting should be used for a Compendium for the universal Church. It must be a painting with such value for us that despite its ‘poverty’ it is presented to the whole Church for enlightening our faith, and to shed light especially on Part Three, our life in Christ.

The rest of this online article is available for current subscribers.

Start your subscription today!


This article is from The Sower and may be copied for catechetical purposes only. It may not be reprinted in another published work without the permission of Maryvale Institute. Contact sower@maryvale.ac.uk

Articles from the Most Recent Issue

Editor's Reflections: “Freedom For” and “Freedom From”
By Dr. James Pauley
Free What is freedom? Here in America, we sing that ours is “the land of the free.” But, of course, building a free society requires that we put laws in place that actually limit some freedoms. We recognize that these limitations are for the good of our common community. It’s clear in our day-to-day living that human freedom, the ideal for which we... Read more
Evangelization and Personal Freedom
By James Franke
If someone is married, in love, or has ever been in love, they can likely tell you when they knew they were in love and, more importantly, when they knew their significant other was in love with them. It’s also likely that one of the individuals fell in love first. Their heart had been moved and they had “arrived” to love. After having arrived,... Read more
Freedom and Conscience 
By Fr. Jay Mello
Free Jiminy Cricket was no theologian or philosopher, but in the Disney Classic Pinocchio, the talking cricket was assigned to serve as the “conscience” for the puppet who was made a “real boy.” The innocent puppet that is familiar to all of us was instructed to follow his conscience in the pursuit of being a good boy. Unaware of what a conscience is... Read more

Pages

Watch Tutorial Videos

We've put together several quick and easy tutorial videos to show you how to use this website.

Watch Now