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Visual arts C‑class

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Future Additions

If you know anything about Venitian or Renisaince art, your additions to this article are greatly valued.

Copy-editing & wikifying

A general request: could people who remove {{wikify}} and {{copyedit}} templates from articles make sure that all the necessary work has been done first? Thanks. --Mel Etitis (Μελ Ετητης) 23:05, 28 January 2006 (UTC)

A few precisions

I won't edit myself (not a native English speaker) but I have an interest for the Italian Renaissance art and would like to contribute.

Trivia: the moment shown here seems to be the dessert, as the food on the table is sugar, fruits and (according to at least one art professor at the Louvre) quince jam. Which is logical, the miracle having been performed at the end of the meal. Of course, the fact meat is represented above is a bit strange!

Jesus is placed at the centre of the table, and significantly, on his right is a woman who, like Jesus, is also depicted with a halo.

This seems a bit obvious to say, but that woman is his mother, the Virgin Mary, who was present at the wedding - hence the halo above her. The fact Jesus and Mary are seated in the place of honor (while the bride and groom are on the left) is probably to symbolize the sacred marriage, the New Alliance.

Mary was the one who asked her son to do something about the lack of wine (note the hand gesture). She's also wearing a black veil, which is interpreted by some as a prefiguration of the Passion of Christ.

For this reason, many suggest that the wedding at Cana may in fact have been Jesus' own wedding.

I don't know who those "many" are, but I've never read any serious expert recognized in the field who said such a thing. To put it bluntly: maybe Dan Brown said so, but if he's a reliable art expert, than I'm Mickey Mouse.

Above Jesus, on an elevated walkway, several men butcher the meat of an unidentified animal.

Art critics generally think it's lamb. Jesus is the sacrificed Lamb of God, the Agnus Dei. The butchered lamb is therefore symbolical of his future sacrifice. Christ is exactly under the blade.

Towards the bottom left part of the picture, there is a man pouring wine from a huge, ornate jug.

You can add this is the exact moment of the miracle of Cana: the water is being transformed into wine. Also, if you count, there are 6 jugs in the painting, just like in the Bible.

It should be noted that, though the majority of the characters in the painting are holding wine glasses, nobody appears to be intoxicated, but are healthily enjoying the feast.

It should also be noted that no one is actually talking. The painting was made for a Benedectine monastery, to be hanged in their refectory - and silence was a strict rule.

At the centre of the courtyard sits a group of musicians playing late Renaissance instruments (lutes and early strings). (...) Above Jesus, on an elevated walkway, several men butcher the meat of an unidentified animal.

This vertical axis is highly symbolical. Above Christ, the Agnus Dei, a lamb is being butchered. Beneath Christ, musicians. Note that in front of the musicians there is a hourglass. In art, this is called a "vanity": showing earthly pleasures such as music, but also with a reminder of death (the hourglass, the butchering).

Hope this helps,

--Avari 00:12, 23 September 2006 (UTC)Avari

I agreed with Avari on most points.

The silence of the attendees is all the more poignantly observed when this painting is compared to Veronese's House of Levi.

I also agree that the rumor that this depicts Jesus' wedding is the result of too many readings of the Da Vinci Code. The woman beside Jesus has little finery or jewelry, looks older, has the simple blue of the Virgin, etc. Also lets not read into the gospel what is not said when so little is said. If someone can cite a gospel that says that Jesus got married at Cana, then please let us know. Also at the time of the wedding Jesus did not have all 12 disciples. In addition, I do not think the wedding guests are dressed in purely contemporary garb, some of looks like the garments worn by turkish traders. CARAVAGGISTI 23:13, 1 February 2007 (UTC)

Exaggeration?

"The feast is well attended; over 39,395,927 figures crowd the painting".

Umm... I know it's a big painting, but there aren't nearly 40 million people depicted in it. Is this a joke, or vandalism, or what? EuroSong 11:20, 16 April 2008 (UTC)

Vandalism of course, plus the wedding did not take place in St Louis. Johnbod (talk) 13:16, 16 April 2008 (UTC)

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