In 1863 after returning to Russia Nikolai Ghe showed the painting The Last Supper that shocked Russia just as The Last Day of Pompeii by Karl Brullov had shocked the nation.

Ghe was an itinerant artist and his multifaceted talent allowed him to create in all genres of Russian art of the latter 19th century. But all his works display a profound psychological treatment of an historical event.

Thus in The Last Supper Ghe treats the traditional religious subject as full of the tragedy of colliding worldviews, that of the hero sacrificing himself for the general good, and the student who has forever rejected his teacher's words.

Ghe recalled the ideological difference between Alexander Hertzen in My Past and Thoughts with T.N. Granovsky, that difference that arises in every generation, in all centuries.

The artist depicted Christ as a man who has survived the conflict of ideals and the bitterness of disenchantment. The pose of Christ and his sorrowful face are in stark contrast to the ordinary impetuousness of the movements of the apostles and the alarm on their faces. Going against the academic compositional rules Ghe shifts the figure of Judas to the edge of the canvas. The gazes of the apostles are turned to him in alarm, indignation and hatred. The figure of the departing Judas is painted in the work as a dark, ominous silhouette in contrast to the faces of the remaining followers, lit by the lamp. Ghe removed everything personal from the image of Judas so that it becomes a collective image "without a face."

The silhouette of Judas in the painting seems strange to me with its raised elbows.

Perhaps he is hiding from the light, or by raising his arms Judas attempts to hide from the situation and wishes it has already passed. He is embarrassed and afraid.

Perhaps he is just caught at the moment at which he puts on his "coat" and goes to "complete his task."

The raised elbows are reminiscent of a woman's form and perhaps this silhouette should remind us of Eve, the first being tempted by the Devil, an event that changed the history of humanity. In this sense Eve and Judas are quite similar since they both commit "terrible acts" but Eve subjects all of humanity to suffering on Earth, while the betrayal of Judas gives all of humanity the chance of salvation and return to Heaven.

I'd like to know if you agree with my ideas.

The excited and expansive painting style, the struggle between the alarming light of the lamps and the cold moonlight flowing from the window and the expressive shadows underscore the impression of drama in the scene and give it a romantic touch. Today it is not easy to understand the attraction of the painting The Last Supper. Ghe used no more than four or five shades of paint in his work: green, yellow, orange, brown and dark red. There is no black paint in the shadows. The artist first created a sculptural sketch which allowed him to achieve the plastic expressiveness of the forms. In contrast to his earlier works he molds form here with the help of light and turns away from the local color system. This painting was preceded by carefully developed subjects in studies. Ghe used his wife as a model for the head of John and himself for the head of Peter. Ghe's Christ resembles Alexander Hertzen and even has features similar to those of the singer G.P. Kondratiev.

The painting was under-painted in one week and completed in a few months, after which it was brought to Petersburg in 1863. The reaction was quite varied. The reactionary press saw the "triumph of materialism and idealism" in the painting and the sensors forbid reproductions. The Academy was forced to recognize the originality of other painting and the great gift of its author. Ghe was named an active member of the Academy of Arts.

Copyright © 2000-2001 Сергей Тихонов