THE LAST SUPPER
from From Abacus to Zeus1

The Passover meal, which was the last Christ was to eat together with his disciples (Matthew 26:17-30; Mark 14:12-26; Luke 22:7-38), is usually represented either at the moment of the institution of the Eucharist (the Sacrament of Holy Communion) or at the moment of Christ's announcement that one among those present at the table would betray him. In representations of the latter type, it was customary, before Leonardo painted his famous version of the subject in Milan, to isolate Judas Iscariot, the betrayer, alone on one side of the table. In Leonardo's painting, as in earlier examples, the disciples are shown reacting variously to the words: "Verily I say unto you, that one of you shall betray me."


BIBLIOGRAPHY
1Pierce, James Smith. From Abacus to Zeus: A Handbook of Art History, 3rd ed. Prentice-Hall: New Jersey, 1987
. p.121-2.