The Last Supper: Why the prediction of Betrayal?

*See attached bibliography for full source citations.

The Last Supper was painted circa 1495 by Leonardo Da Vinci, and commissioned under Ludovico Sforza for the Dominicans of Santa Maria delle Grazie. From the beginning, the painting was considered a masterpiece and therefore, Leonardo was praised time and again for the technical aspects of his masterpiece. Vasari, the first man to write a book of artists' biographies, exclaimed, "a Last Supper, a most beautiful and marvelous thing; and to the heads of the Apostles he gave such majesty and beauty, that he left the head of Christ unfinished, not believing that he was able to give it that divine air which is essential to the image of Christ." Vasari, like most was entranced by the beauty of Leonardo's technique. Even today, most of the books devoted to the Last Supper focus mainly on its technical aspects.
The Last Supper is one of the most sacred events of Christian History. According to the bible, it is the last gathering that Christ and his apostles shared before he was crucified. Most depictions of this time period focused on the moment of the beginning of the Eucharist; the moment when Jesus gives up his body and blood to the apostles and mankind. However, Da Vinci's Last Supper was the first to portray the moment right after Jesus predicts that one of his apostles will betray him. Why the moment of betrayal? Why was this one different? In order to begin to answer this question, one must first look at three subjects; the Dominicans of Santa Maria delle Grazie and the Sforza family; their involvement with the Dominicans and the story of Judas' betrayal and how it is portrayed in the painting. These subjects may hold the keys to answering the question; why did Leonardo Da Vinci decide to stray from the normal depictions of the Last Supper and focus on the moment right after Christ predicts that one of the apostles will betray him?
The Dominicans were part of a religious order known as the Mendicants. The Mendicants were officially founded in 1209 and the Dominicans were established shortly after that in 1216. Like all Mendicants, the Dominicans took vows of poverty. This meant that they renounced all personal and communal property. In other words, they were not allowed to own any property and were completely dependant upon the generosity of others. The Dominicans dedicated their lives to imitating the work of Jesus Christ and the apostles. The Dominicans were also among the first (after Jesus Christ) to literally bring Jesus to the people. Instead of secluding themselves like many other sects, the Dominican friars would walk the streets among all the common people and provide them with the piety that was needed for salvation. Converting and fighting against heretics was an important mission for the Dominicans. They strived to educate many Jews and Muslims about the teachings of Jesus Christ. Their motto was "To contemplate and give others the fruit of contemplation" (Dictionary of the Middle Ages, 243). In order to educate others, one must in return be well educated. Therefore, Dominican friars were very well educated; especially in the fields of Theology and Philosophy. This type of effective piety was a new, innovative way of worshiping.
The imitation of the apostolic life gives meaning to the Last Supper. The continuation of the architecture of the room brings the viewer into the painting. When one looks at it one believes one is actually at the event. The room in which the painting resided in served as a dining room for the friars. The tables, at which the friars dined, along with the china, were identical to those in the painting. Every time the friars would eat, they would feel as if they were in the painting and experiencing this sanctified moment as it took place. They would feel as if Jesus Christ was saying to them, "One of you will betray me" (Matthew 26:21-25). This was apostle imitation at the highest level. The friars would be experiencing first hand what it was like to be an apostle and might be questioning whether or not they will be the one to betray their savior. Leonardo's portrayal of this particular moment of the Last Supper might have caused the friars to question their faith and to reflect upon what their purpose in life truly was; to serve Jesus Christ by being faithful to him and spreading his teachings to others.
In order to fully imitate the apostles and remain true to their vows of poverty, the Dominicans usually had wealthy benefactors. In the case of the friars of Santa Maria delle Grazie it was the Sforza family, mainly Ludovico Sforza. Ludovico Sforza was the son of Francesco Sforza, the first Sforza Duke of Milan. Francesco was an extremely successful military leader, who fell into the favor of the current duke of Milan, Filippo Maria Visconti. Visconti was so impressed with Francesco that he gave him his daughter's hand in marriage. They were married in 1412. Upon Filippo's death, after much struggle because of opposition from the Visconti family, Francesco seized control of the city and named himself duke. Ludovico came into power after the death of his father in the 1470's when he seized control of the city from his nephew Gian Galeazzo Sforza.
Like most people during the Renaissance, Ludovico Sforza was very much a Christian. In order to display this to the public and mostly to the church he, along with his family, were huge benefactors to the Dominicans and especially of the Dominican's of Santa Maria delle Grazie. There are repeated records of duke Galeazzo granting alms to the friars and it is rumored that he once donated a silver cast that much resembled him to the Santa Maria delle Grazie church that was worth 500 ducats. (A Renaissance Court, 166) There is also speculation that Galeazzo Sforza always had either a Dominican or a Franciscan friar along with him while he was traveling, so that he may have all of his sins repealed and be spiritually cleansed without having to visit a church. Also, Galeazzo's wife was said to make many devout visits to the Santa Maria frequently, and the church was often used as a retreat for the family and their friends. Furthermore, Ludovico planned to turn the church into a family mausoleum.
It is not known why the Sforzas were partial to the Dominicans of Santa Maria delle Grazie. This might have been based on the fact that the ways of the Mendicants were very respected by the Catholic Church. Being charitable to and associated with a respectable Christian organization carried a lot of weight. It showed others that the family was aware of the importance of supporting the church and the needy. More importantly, it could have shown who was in control of things. The Sforza's generosity was basically the Dominican's life line; Without the Dominican's they would not have the means to survive. In a sense, the Sforzas held the lives of the Dominicans in their hands.
So, one may be as bold to say, the Sforzas were the masters of the Dominicans; just as Jesus was to the apostles. Like any faithful follower, the apostles were afraid of betraying their master. Not only did they respect him, they believed that Jesus had an immense amount of power. If he was who he said he was, he definitely had an important force on his side and could damn anyone he wanted to. Perhaps, Ludovico realized this and decided to have Da Vinci portray this in the Last Supper. The prediction of Judas' betrayal would have been the perfect moment to remind the friars of what happens to those who betray their masters and even more so the community.
Judas Iscariot was born in Judea around the time of Christ's birth. He later served as a steward for Christ and the other apostles. It was believed by many, during the Renaissance, that Judas was the ultimate traitor. He was said to have lead the chief priest's army to the location at which Jesus Christ was for 30 pieces of silver.
Judas was the opposite of what the Dominican's strived to imitate. He was greedy, deceitful and unfaithful to his master. The Dominican's vowed to be pious, faithful, generous and moderate. In the Last Supper, Judas might have been intended as a metaphor for the opposite of what a good, or more importantly a devout, friar should stand for. He is much darker than the color of the other monks. His pigment is a dark, almost black color, which during the Renaissance signified filth and deceitfulness. His expression is cold. His eyes are emotionless and he shows no piety of faith in Christ. All of the other apostles have some emotion. Their reactions to Jesus' prediction depict them as appalled that anyone could ever betray him. For example, the third apostle on Christ's left expresses sorrow and grief. He points to his heart and his expression seems to be saying, "I would never dream of betraying you master." "I Love you!" On the contrary, Judas' eyes look as if they are looking out the window, not paying much attention to Christ; as if Christ's words do not surprise him at all. The money bag in his hand is a symbol for his greed and willingness to betray Christ. He is depicted as the ultimate sinner. The depiction of Judas might have served as a constant reminder of what a sinner looks like and therefore teaches the friars how they should act and what will happen to them if they are not faithful to the Christ.
Now that all of the subjects at hand have been discussed with detail, one can start to piece together the evidence and attempt to answer the question at hand. Why did Leonardo Da Vinci decide to stray from the normal depictions of the last supper and focus on the moment right after Christ predicts that one of the apostles will betray him? There are several possible answers to this question. The Dominican's strived to imitate the ways of the apostles. They vowed to spread the teachings of Christ to public, immerse themselves with the poor in order to offer them salvation, and to live a life that lacked material possessions. By drawing the audience into the painting and giving them a feeling of attending the Last Supper, Da Vinci might have been trying to remind them of their faithfulness to Christ and their ways of life. By putting them in the picture and allowing them to reflect on the moment of betrayal might also remind them of why they lived the way they did. They were true believers of Jesus Christ and wanted to be faithful to him. Also, by using dark colors, cold features and the appearance of a money bag in his hand, Da Vinci might have been trying to remind the friars of the apostle that they should not strive to imitate if they wish to lead a virtuous life and ascend to paradise on Judgment Day.
The most probable explanation of why Da Vinci chose this particular moment to focus his painting on, might have something to so with the family that commissioned it; the Sforzas. The Sforzas, like most people, were deeply religious and may have wanted to convey that piety to the public and more importantly to the Church. Displaying one of the most important moments in Christian history would show the amount devotion to Christ and the search for the Devine Truth that the family possessed. The most probable reason for commissioning the portrayal of the prediction of betrayal however, is much more a statement of power. Because of the Dominican's vow to discard all possessions of a material nature, they were completely dependant on the generosity of others. The Sforzas were huge benefactors of the Santa Mara delle Grazie and were basically a life line for the Dominican's. The Sforzas also had the power to cut that line at anytime. It is highly possible that Ludovico was aware of this and wanted to make this fact extremely clear to the friars. Christ could stand as a metaphor for the Sforzas and more importantly, Ludovico. In the painting Christ is the focal point; the center of the apostles' lives. He is the man that the apostles depend upon to guide and provide for them; which is the same case with Ludovico and the friars. The apostles in the painting are very much aware of the amount of power that Christ has over them they understand that whoever betrays him would surely be damned forever. By bringing the friars into the painting, Da Vinci might have been attempting to give the friars an idea of how much power that the Sforzas had and therefore prevent any sort of hatred towards the family and while still establishing the kind of fear that institutes a "Machiavellian" leader; one who uses fear to control his subjects. "When they depend on their own energies and can make use of force, then they hardly ever come to their own grief." (The Prince, 17).
Though these explanations might have been possible answers to the posed question, they are much too vague. Perhaps, Da Vinci might have simply been going against the social standard of depictions of the Last Supper and therefore tried to pick a moment at the supper that no one would have ever considered painting. Or perhaps there is no good explanation at all. Like all works of art that are preserved from centuries ago, it is extremely difficult to understand the meaning and purpose behind the Last Supper. It is quite possible that this question will remain unanswered. A better question to ask is why has no one attempted to answer this question before? An artist completely abandons the normal standard of depictions of the last supper (portraying the moment in which Christ gives his body and blood up for the salvation of mankind), chooses an extremely different moment at the Last Supper as the focus of his piece and no one attempts to explain why? Perhaps it was because everyone was so enthralled with the physical aspects of the painting, its technical beauty and therefore failed to ponder the theological meanings behind the painting. Whatever the reason, it is an important key that must be found if one ever wishes to fully understand the meaning behind the Last Supper.