Saturday 29 June 2013

Never too 'hyper interpretation' St. Peter in the Last Supper

Thank you, William, for the on going Links of Leonardo's Last Supper.

Next right to Christ, John, Peter and Judas

----- Forwarded Message -----

From: Donald ....
To: William J ....
Sent: Thursday, 27 June 2013, 16:38
Subject: Fw: Two special feasts misfired

Dear William,

Completely mistaken about Sermon expected.

I was loving to search Leonardo focused on Peter, not St. Paul.

I was supposed to deliver the eve of Sts. Peter and Paul Sermon in the Chapter.

Totally mystified, and I learned that my turn is for the Sermon of St. Benedict on July 11th.

St. Benedict is very different oyster to be cracked.

The Guest House 'Our Lady of Perpetual Help' picture has the emblems of the Passion held by Angels - in a Blogspot too.....

A breather until July 11th.

In Dno.

Donald

P.S. 'hyper interpretation. Rudolf Steiner.

Leonardo Da Vinci, the Last Supper: A Cosmic Drama And an Act of ... - Page 86 - Google Books Result

books.google.co.uk/books?isbn=1902636759

Michael Ladwein - 2006 - Art
... be a good deal of poor observation coupled with 'hyper-interpretation'.7 A prime ...Supper to the ground-plan of the first Goetheanum and to Rudolf Steiner's ...

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----- Forwarded Message -----
From: William ...
To: Donald....
Sent: Thursday, 27 June 2013, 15:08
Subject: Two special feasts

Dear Father Donald,

I thought I might share your browsing for your homily on the feast of St Peter and St Paul! Avenues to explore and delight!

It is a brilliant angle - a homily around a painting - on St Peter, through the Leonardo Last Supper.

This is a link I shared with you, with narrative http://smarthistory.khanacademy.org/leonardo-last-supper.html

I have tried to find a painting expressive of St Paul's life to compliment that of St Peter http://www.wikipaintings.org/en/rembrandt/st-paul-in-prison-1627#supersized-artistPaintings-220532 but can find no narrative.

But then of course you have Sr Wendy's book! and are far more intuitive than I on the internet search engines!

I love today's feast of Our Lady - I have a metal plaque which hangs above my desk (attached). I remember a very fine large print in the lounge in the Guest House - the sandal that falls from the Child Jesus as He sees the emblem of the cross carried by an angel. The DGO have a nice piece: http://dailygospel.org/main.php?language=AM&module=saintfeast&localdate=20130627&id=135&fd=1

Your 'racing moon' has become huge these last few nights/dawns, quite entrancing me. The weather-man spoke of the present tight orbit of the earth causing it to appear 30% larger. The universe is one vast source of wonder! 100% wiser than mankind!

With my love in Our Lord,

William

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Sacristy - Tapestry of Leonardo Last Supper

Donald draft of:

Solemnity of Sts Peter and Paul 29 June 2013

The Peter and Paul Solemnity seems to have a great flourish by the Liturgy, the Church, the Vatican, the faithful teaching, a flourish of partiality.

In fact the key theme is better from Augustine, “One day for the passion of two Apostles ... they were as one”.

And in this community-sermon we highlight, not the special preference of Peter and Paul, but look for the preferential love of the brethren, the communion of our community life.

This week we had the celebration of the Birth of St. John of the Baptist and I was remembered by the paintings of Leonardo Da Vinci;

The Virgin of the Rocks The Virgin and Child with St. John the Baptist and an Angel, and Leonardo’s Charcoal Cartoon for the Virgin and Child with St. Anne and the Infant St. John the Baptist.

Why are these paintings of Leonardo the greatest expressions of communion and presence?

It takes the historians of paintings to articulate relationships and and mystery in the living frame..

The amazing Nations Gallery in London, Leonardo’s Charcoal Cartoon – the depth of Mary and St. Anne in the exchange and the mystery of Redemption of the children, the Child Jesus and the Infant of John the Baptist.

Leonardo’s story of ‘the Last Supper’ surpasses the TV directors today.. Against a distant background the action of the Last Super in an extreme drama..

‘The Last Super’ is the same painting subject on the wall of our reading room, donated by the Knights of Templar, and the same picture, as the tapestry in the Sacristy, shows surprising accuracy in details. The tapestry was donated ‘in remembrance of Suzanne Mary Braniff, died 9-12-1986, age 15years.

Narrowed down to our interest is the role of St. Peter in the ‘Last Supper ‘ painting of Leonardo.

There were twelve apostles at Christ’s last supper. St. Paul not in sight.

In our Liturgy, the duo “Peter and Paul” is flattered or flattened in contrast to the drama of the twelve Apostles.

Peter is not singled out by Leonardo. Peter, himself, is one nub of a radar web net of the twelve zeroed to the heart of Christ.

The camera zooms on to Peter, in his right hand he has a knife behind Judas, James the Elder reaches to touch Peter, so that Peter is to nudge John, who in turn John asks Jesus ‘who betrayed him’. The six on stage, right of Christ are performing the ‘act’ in concert.

The more overt ‘acting’ is the language of the express by arms and hands, illustrated by view .

...........

The Significance of Various Elements in the Composition of the Painting

Note on Peter.

Michael Ladwein

Leonardo da Vinci – The Last Super

The language and.meaning of gestures

... the ever-long forefinger of Thomas, pointing upwards very striking and energetically, might also be interpreted as indicating that the doubts he experienced regarding Christ's Resurrection could only be overcome by actually touching his wounds John 20,27). This in turn meant that in medieval theology Thomas became the actual witness of the Resurrection, so that his heavenward-pointing finger came to symbolize Christ's Ascension." Peter's right hand, propped on his hip (behind Judas' back) is holding a knife which at first sight can be regarded as a perfectly legitimate item of cutlery. But apart from the fact that it is the only knife in the whole picture, its size and shape also make it appear more like a weapon. Thus it points to the happening a few hours hence when Peter, militantly ready to defend Christ, will cut off the ear of Malchus (while here the ear of .John is willingly turned towards him and that of Judas involuntarily hears his urgent enquiry as to the name of the traitor). Thus the knife becomes in a sense an attribute of Peter.

Apart from Peter, only Judas is holding in his right hand an object open to ambivalent interpretation: the purse full of money (Fig.53).

Judas, Peter, John, 1999 restored

Initially it can be seen as the common purse (John 12,6) which he administers, but we immediately and above all associate it with his traitor's reward of thirty pieces of silver. Moreover, as he recoils vehemently in surprise, he appears inadvertently to upset a salt-cellar. This is a most realistic touch," for he is symbolically rejecting Christ's promise that he too, like the others, shall be 'the salt of the earth', thus cancelling his links with Christ."

The mystery of the centre:
Judas and John

The relationship between Christ and Judas and the drama played out between them is the picture's centre of tension. They are the only two who are aware of the dark and pressing secret: the betrayal. The contrast between these two protagonists is vividly portrayed in the play of their hands. On the right, Christ's outstretched left arm ending in the 'giving' hand (which will soon be pierced by a nail) hovers freely and lightly in the air. On the left Judas' bent right arm ending in the fist clutching the full purse rests heavily on the table. (Or is Judas clinging to it to keep himself steady?) While the principle of polarity is most clearly expressed in these gestures, the 'drama of the hands' culminates in the tension-filled approach to one another of Christ's right and Judas' left hand with gestures that are so much alike.

Exactly between these two taut and active hands rest those of John, folded and interlinked - a counterpoint to all the other hands in the picture except for a degree of inner similarity with Christ's 'passive' left hand. In direct contrast to James the Great, his opposite number on the other side, whose hands are furthest apart, those of John together with the close-held arms (the only ones in this position) give incomparable expression to his inner withdrawal from all external happenings, the 'ocean stillness' of his soul. Of these hands it has been said quite rightly: 'With such a pair of folded hands Leonardo has achieved what other artists could portray only by painting the whole man John asleep.' (Monstadt)

A similarly subtle gradation can be observed in the faces, beginning with John - who apart horn Christ is the only figure portrayed frontally - via the pure profile of Peter and on to the profit perdu of Judas whose glance is directed slightly towards the rear of the picture. Peter's place between John and Judas gives expression to his spiritual position as well." It is upon him, the rock, that Christ intends to build his church, yet during this very night, on the other hand, he will also deny, though not betray, his Lord.

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BBC Art History