From Secrets of the Code

What Some People See in The Last Supper

The Last Supper - small image, black and white   The Last Supper - small image in color

1. A knife hangs in the air seemingly tinged with symbolic meaning as it is disassociated from the rest of the image.

2. The Da Vinci Code suggests that the character to Jesus' right, generally thought to be John, is really female, not male, and is Leonardo's vision of Mary Magdalene, sitting in the most important place next to Jesus.

3. Peter's hand, slicking through the air in a menacing way in “Mary Magdalene's” direction, could be a gesture reinforcing Peter's rivalry with Mary Magdalene for control of Jesus' movement after his

death and Peter's jealousy over the important place in the movement Jesus may have given to Mary.

4. The 45-degree angled space between Jesus and “Mary Magdalene” suggests a V—said in The Da Vinci Code to be the archetypal symbol of the chalice, the vagina, the womb, and female sexuality.

5. The line that outlines Jesus and “Mary Magdalene” traces the shape of an M. According to another argument advanced by The Da Vinci Code this M could connote either Mary Magdalene or Matrimony.

6. The garments worn by Jesus and “Mary” are mirror images of each other's red and blue fabrics.

7. The blue color denotes spiritual love, fidelity, and truth. Red and blue are seen as the royal colors, in this case possibily suggesting the “royal blood” them and the alignment of the royal House of Benjamin (from which Mary is said to be descended) and the House of David (from which Jesus is said to be descended)

8. There is no central chalice or wine goblet in the Last Supper despite the popular preconception that there is. Instead, each person at the table has a small glass of his/her own.