|
One of those "Oh, no, not YOU again!" moments has reared its predictable head on the Interwebs. Yes, dear friends, despite the 8 billion other paintings that we could conceivably examine ad nauseam, Leonardo's Last Supper is once again making headline news.
This time an Italian computer analyst took a digital image of Last Supper and printed two copies of it on vellum or some sort of translucent film. When he turned one copy over, laid it on top of the other and lined up Christ's heads, guess what happened next? Shocking revelations! To whit: a brand new figure has emerged. It apparently brought knights along. Also, somebody is holding a baby.
Now, people will see what they want to see. This has been demonstrated to the complete satisfaction of both me and my inbox. I am not here to tell anyone else how their eyes and brains *must* synchronize around works of art. So, after looking at the evidential images, I will just make a few personal observations. 1. Isn't it possible that the "baby" is St. Peter's bald head, seemingly cradled in the crook of the superimposed, reversed St. Philip the Apostle's arm?
2. I do not see a new figure in a red robe or knights.
3. Conversely, I do see a vertically-challenged person dressed in blue turning a cartwheel on the table. In fact, if I take my reading glasses off and shake my head around a little, I see all sorts of other things: the location of the Lost Dutchman mine; Excalibur; a chupacabra; beach volleyball at Club Med Atlantis; gigantic alligators in civic sewer systems; deposed Third World officials whose families can make bank account withdrawals unaided. It boggles the mind. Your turn! Here is the explanatory video (bonus points if you speak Italian).
Here is a recreation of the resultant picture for longer study. What do you think? Comments below. And let's keep this one of a pitiable handful of places online that don't refer to the artist as "DaVinci," please.
Image credit:
Leonardo da Vinci (Italian,1452-1519) Last Supper, 1495-98 Tempera and mixed media on plaster 460 x 880 cm (15.09 x 28.87 ft.) Convent of Santa Maria delle Grazie, Milan
|