L’Ultima Cena
oil on canvas
200x130cm
2011
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The idea of making contemporary art in response to Fioravante Sansoni’s Last Supper painting began when I saw the publication which documented the restoration of the painting in 1998.
Having met the Director, and been given a thorough account of the history of the painting and the Museum of the Refettorio di San Michele, in Pescia, I spent a long time looking at the original.
It’s a fine example of seventeenth century Christian art, lovingly painted and sensitively restored.
I was particularly interested in the fact that an illusionary framed image of the crucifixion hangs above Christ’s head. Thus, the viewer, who is placed alongside Judas on the near side of the table, knows what’s about to happen, just as he does.
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Initially, the proposed exhibition was to be simple and easily transportable. Twelve other artists would be invited to join me in making place settings to be laid on the refectory table which stands beneath Sansoni’s painting. It was this proposal that I put forward to the artist Jane Ball over dinner when she hosted me on my External Examiner’s visit to Coventry University and at a later date, to Brigid Mcleer and Mandy Havers. The discussion opened up wider possibilities and suddenly we had a new project on our hands.*
*At this point the discussion extended the ideas beyond the Refettorio exhibition and resulted in a proposal which is currently being considered by the Luigi Pecci Centre for Contemporary Art, Prato :-.
’Excavating the fold: hidden archives’ aims to explore the potential of the archive and its implied histories as a focus for creative practice.
As the other 12 artists became involved, (most of them visited the Refettorio in Pescia) , the exhibition profile continued to shift. Group decisions were made. The art work needn’t be confined to the table. The emphasis on meanings embedded in the painting, the variety of media and the innovatory aspect of the installation of the work were prioritised.
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I began thinking about my own piece for the show as a continuation of my initial ‘place-settings’
idea. I set my studio table, spread a white cloth, dropped wine, oil and breadcrumbs. The resulting photographs became placemats. I re-played and photographed the same process time and again, until I’d accumulated sufficient images to begin to work with.
The table would be replaced by the large (200 x 130cms) canvas. I prepared the ground, using white gesso as a drawing primer to describe folds of the tablecloth.
Then I painted twelve placemats, imagining the type of scrutiny the stains and breadcrumbs might be given by the disciples, as they each attempted to deal with the horror of this last meal. I left Christ’s place empty, assuming that he had no need of diversion tactics.
The more breadcrumbs I painted, the more significant they became. Having worked for the last few years on the theme of molecular swarming, trying to investigate ‘matter’, the substance of bread was a perfect vehicle. Its associations with ‘body’ are traditionally deep-rooted, as are the properties of wine and oil.
So, the table top was established. Looking down on it, the viewer could read twelve disparate views of the remnants of a meal.
At this point, it seemed too obvious, too well designed, too carefully conceived, even too pleasurable to the eye. The narrative element was so dominant that it acted as a closure, rather than a prompt to stimulate new creative thought.
I had to spoil it. I lay it flat and started again, putting it through the identical processes that I’d applied to the real table. At this point it began to breathe.
The resulting painting can speak for itself.
Anne Grebby
25/08/11 Lucca
Anne Grebby website:
annegrebby.com
