LAST SUPPER

Ultima Cena "Last Supper", historiated initial "C", cutting from a Florentine Gradual, ms. M.653, no. 4 (II.25), between 1392 and 1399, Pierpont Morgan Library, Department of Medieval and Renaissance Manuscripts, New York.   The illumination we present on the occasion of Maundy Thursday comes from a Florentine Gradual created at the Monastery of Santa Maria degli Angeli, probably during the abbacy of Paolo Venier for the Monastery of San Michele in Murano (Venice). The folio, originally f. 78, was detached from the manuscript and purchased by J. Pierpont Morgan in 1909. Apparently, however, the illumination was initially roughly cut without the foliate border; the page was then restored and is now preserved at the Morgan Library in New York. Silvestro dei Gherarducci, the artist, inscribes the scene of the Last Supper inside of a lavishly ornated initial "C" with geometric and floral designs. Jesus and the Apostles sit at a round table. At the center of the scene, Saint John leans against Jesus, whose hand is raised in a sign of blessing. On Jesus' left, Saint Peter is made identifiable by his tonsured hairstyle. Judas Iscariot sits at the opposite side of the table, nimbed in black with scorpion decors; tied at his waist, a red purse containing the thirty pieces of silver he received in exchange for the betrayal of Jesus.
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