Self-Portrait Looking at The Last Supper (1982-84) : Marisol
-Painted and drawn wood, plywood, brownstone, plaster, aluminum
-121x358 in.
Marisol bases this contemporary assembly of sculptures on Leonardo da Vinci's iconic Last Supper.
She keeps da Vinci's monumental size, as well as a similar perspective, regarding the arrangement of the figures, when looking at the image straight on. However, Marisol adds an onlooker to the scene (whom I assume to be herself, based on the title). This onlooker gives the piece an entirely different feel than Leonardo's Last Supper. When I look at Leonardo's, I am forced to focus on the details of the scene; to examine what is going on and pay attention to what Leonardo created. I am the onlooker, interpreting The Last Supper and forming my own personal opinions on it. When I look at Marisol's, I take a step back. I remove myself from my opinions, and instead look at the image through the perspective of the onlooker. I begin to think about the scene itself, as well as the artist's intentions, as opposed to just how "pretty it looks". There have been hundreds of depictions of the last supper throughout history, so it's amazing to me how Marisol can create an entirely different way of viewing the iconic image just by adding a second party to the scene.
-Laura Kesnig
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