Last Supper, The (Leonardo da Vinci) Easter Egg - Extra

I have looked for your "extra hand under the table" on the painting at http://www.artchive.com/artchive/L/leonardo/lastsupp.jpg.html but had no success in finding it. Are you sure this is correct?

That image is way too grainy. You can barely see anything.

Do you know where we can find a cleaner version? Everything that I've found so far is really grainy.

Try Milan.

What about the hand with a knife behind the fifth apostle from the left?

I just looked at a stained glass rendition, and-look, ma! No hands! How has this egg been rated if noone's seen it?

A better quality snapshot of the restored original can be found here: http://www.ricks.edu/Ricks/Employee/DavisR/Art/Leonardo,%20Last%20Supper.JPG

1. It's not the fifth apostle to the left, it's the 4th one. 2. How can you not see it? It's under the right arm (the right arm when looking at the apostle) with both hands up. 3. This is interesting, nice find.

This isn't real! The hand holding the knife belongs to the 5th face from the left (with a white beard looking sideways, dressed in dark green). He has his hand on his hip with the knife pointed outwards. The guy with the yellow shirt and the black vest has both his hands up so it looks like his hand is attached to the green guys elbow, thus creating the effect that the one below is an unattached hand.

Well, that makes sense since that figure represents Judas Iscariot.

Check me if I'm wrong, but isn't the knife pointing away from Jesus here?

Hey...I don't mean to sound rude, but I think the person that's holding it just wants a biscuit because that looks like a butter-knife!!!

I downloaded a picture of the painting and spotted the knife. But it is pointing away from Jesus and is above the table. Email me the knife pointed at Jesus under the table, circled if you spotted it because I haven't.

I'm almost positive the knife isn't in anyone's hand... I doubt an artist as good as Leonardo would draw someone's wrist twisted that much...

But, her hands are both in front of her... if it is even a "her"...

Yo!! it's the 4th guy from the left with a white beard he is hiding behind the 5th guy from the left. The knife is not under the table it is above it's close to a plate of bread or rolls(or whatever)and under the left arm of the 3rd guy from the left

Read the story of the last supper, in the Bible. These 12 people are all men, and they are all his disciples. I think you will get a better understanding of Leonardo's work, if you read the story of Jesus life in the Gospels.

It's above the table, and it's pointed away from Jesus.

The fourth man along, leaning over is the man holding the knife. It looks at first glance that it is contorted but he actually has his hand resting on his hip. Try standing like that yourself and you'll see what I mean

yes the hand is there i have an art store by my house with the painting and there is an extra hand.

Read the story of the last supper again. There is no broken bread or wine in the painting-essential symbolism of the last supper. There are so many 'eggs' in this painting that Leonardo hid for the enlightened to find-and for fear of his own persecution as a heretic. The knife and the woman as St. John are two of them. For a better understanding of the painting read up on Leonardo's background and interests.

Schmee said: >Well, that makes sense since that figure represents Judas Iscariot. Mmmm, no. At least I don't think so. Judas is supposed to be the guy in *front* of the white bearded chap holding the knife. If you look closely he is clutching a small bag in his hand, which is supposed to contain the coins he got in payment for his betrayal.

The man/woman to the left of Jesus (as looking at the Picture) should be a Man, since the 12 apostles were there, BUT..... Leonardo De Vince was a member of Knights Templar. This secret group's MAIN purpose was (and is to this day) to protect the descendants of Jesus Christ. This group and Leonardo believed that Jesus was married to Mary Magdelen (spelling?) and as such, Leonardo purposely made the apostle on Jesus' right side his wife. Or, so the theory goes. ;-)

I think the only egg in this painting is the egg yolks that were used to paint it... it's tempera.

This picture was made to represent the bible story of the last supper. So there isn't any women in here. They are the 12 followers of Christ. Leonardo did put too many hands in there whether or not that the hand with the knife is one... although I personnaly agree that the guy has his hand on his hip. Judas is the one with the sack of golden coins representing the pay for telling where Jesus is.

The hand holding the knife is attached to the older man with the white beard, who is talking into the ear of the "lady". Notice that he has his right hand on his hip, with the palm facing outward (probably because he was holding the knife!) Hold the TV remote (or a knife if you happen to have one next to your computer) in your hand and try it yourself. The hand isn't contorted.

We have been staging The Last Supper as a live painting and studying the disciples in the picture. Each disciple is responding to the words "one of you will betray me", and da Vinci tried to capture their different moods. John is the "woman" and appears to be fainting from shock. Simon Peter (my character) is the white-bearded man, and he holds the knife. He is angry and ready to slay the betrayer. It looks like his hand is on his hip, but I think it is just the way his robe hangs. The pose looks awkward, but it feels quite natural if I pull the knife from a waist sheath.

Regarding whether the person next to Jesus is male or female. In Romans Chapter 16 Verse 7 reads: "Salute Andronicus and Junia, my kinsmen, and my fellow-prisoners, who are of note among the apostles, who also were in Christ before me" Junia is a female name indicating at least one female apostle Not that I think it is, just thought I'd mention the possibility

I have looked at the picture and it seems that the man was probably cutting something then Jesus accused one of them of treason, and he put it there while leaning over to ask John what he was talking about (And yes, I believe that that IS John, just tilting back)

There IS a hand holding a knife, as well as the fact that the apostle immediately to the right of Jesus (on the left to the viewer) is a woman! Many believe this woman to be Mary of Magdalene, cleverly inserted by DaVinci. Notice she is wearing the exact opposite as Christ - Christ wears a red tunic and blue robe, while "s"he wears a blue tunic and red robe. No other disciple is even close to the same in clothing. Also, notice the upraised finger thrust angrily in Jesus' face. This symbol, without exception in DaVinci's works, represents John the Baptist. Hmmm......

Also, where is the wine in the painting, which is supposed to represent the blood of Christ? And why is most of the bread unbroken? Was this DaVinci's secret way of saying that he believed that Jesus didn't really die on the cross?

This sounds more like an accident, not an egg.

Logickly, if the person to the right of Jesus was Mary Magnline, don't you think da Vinci would have painted pictures for all 12 apostles, Jesus AND Mary Magnline(14 People!)? There are only 13 figures!

DaVinci originally painted wine glasses in almost every free hand, but like the lace table cloth, people paid too much attention to the glasses and he painted them out of the painting.

I saw the hand with the knife and I don't know what to make of it but,In this painting I see 12 apostles 1 woman and jesus. If you notice on the right side of the picture in between the third and fourth man, there is a bearded man reaching through. I can't believe no one else saw this.

To Da Man: It is kinda hard to mess up in a painting that much, OK?

Even if you count the reacher there it's still 11 guys and the chick/guy thing whatever or whoever that's supposed to be.

At an antique store, I recently bought a book about Leonardo Da Vinci, written by Antonina Vallentin and published in 1938. It gives a great description of the Last Supper painting. Here is his initial description of his vision for the picture: "One who was drinking and has set down his glass and turned his head toward the speaker. Another, twisting the fingers of his two hands and with brows knitted, turns to his neighbour; this neighbor spreads his hands and shows their palms, raises his shoulders to his ears, and opens his mouth in amazement. Another whispers into his neighbour's ear; the listener turns towards him to lend an ear, holding a knife in one hand and in the other the bread half cut through; another, who has turned,holding a knife in his hands, upsets with his hand a glass on the table. Another rests his hands on the table and watches; another blows out his cheeks; another bends forward to see the speaker, shading his eyes with his hand; another draws back behind the one who leans forward and sees the speaker between the wall and the man who is leaning." The book then goes on to explain the mannerisms and moods of each character in the painting, and his significance. It describes Jesus first, and among other things, that the words "One of you shall betray me" are still weighing down the corners of his mouth. Then comes his neighbor on the left, James the Elder, whose mouth is open in amazement at the words. Next the apostle Thomas, who is raising his index finger, is an eternal doubter. Philip the apostle has jumped up, and bent forward, as to 'protest his innocence'. These three figures as a group are described as surging as "a wave up against Christ's immobility". On the other side is the "disciple whom Christ most loved"... his hands are clapped together as though he has already lost everything, and he suffers in silence. Close to him is Peter, whose "brow almost touches the lifeless martyr's face of John." His left hand is laid heavily on John's shoulder, as though to shake him awake, and his right hand has involuntarily seized a knife as he suddenly springs up. "The painters of the quattrocento isolated Judas, like a man stricken with plague, on the opposite side of the table, as though all knew already of his treachery. Leonardo boldly set him next to the disciple whom Jesus most loved. In this Leonardo was a better psychologist than his fellow-artists; he knew that treason dwells close to trust, and can strike with such confidence only becuase it is embedded in faith and loyalty, was there for all to see but was observed by none... He had immersed Jesus in light; he immersed Judas in shadow... His evil, vulture-like profile, with his shifty glance, stands out, as the only dark silhouette, so plainly that his identity is clear, even without the evidence of the hand clutching the bag." Matthew springs up and sweeps the air with his arm, and appeals to Simon Peter and crying "Can they let that happen?" Simon Peter's only response is his outstretched hands, as he insists he has no idea what is happening. Then the book says "The apostle Bartholomew bends over to him from the other end of the table in a fever of agitation, appealing to him with eyes aflame, his hands resting firmly on the table. And these questionings psychologically unite the two ends of the table, so formally they set profile against profile..." Lastly, the book says that against the fevered head of Bartholomew is the almost apathetic figure of James the younger, and he touches Simon Peter's shoulder. The aged Andrew raises his eyebrows and his outspread hands declare his innocence. Leonardo knew that 13 persons could never have sat down at that narrow table, just as the observers knew it; "But it was entirely permissible to sacrifice reality for the sake of the effect to be achieved." Sorry so long, but this description may or may not clear up your questions of the Last Supper painting.

For all of you who argue that the 'disciple' next to Jesus MUST be a man because the bible tells you so, well, go back to my original post about it. Da Vince believed Jesus was married. He believe Jesus had children too. He pulled one over on the Catholic Church who commissioned the painting of the Last Supper by giving one of the disciples a sex-change and wearing the same colored clothing as Jesus. At little off-topic for this easter-egg, but the evidence is mounting that Da Vince also created the infamous "Shroud of Turin" using experimental photographic techniques. (it's HIS face 'photo' for the head and the body was a cadaver.)

i know this doesn't really matter...but in new testament class (a required class at my college) we learned that they didn't actually sit around a table at the last supper, they reclined w/ their backs to it or something....so the painting isn't really accurate..but i'm sure Da Vinci knew that when he painted it...and just painted it the way he did for whatever reason he had

Now, this description may seem strange, but we just went over this in my European History class. If you count the hands in the painting, there are 27, one too many... The hand with the knife doesn't actually belong to somebody. I was told that Da Vinci painted this in because his employer rushed him into finishing. He painted the dagger there out of his frustration. For this same reason, the fraesco (i think that's what it was called, first used by Giotto) painting was done too quickly, and he didn't ensure the quality. That is why today, there is serious damage to the piece: faded paint, chipping paint. Hope this helps. I could have it wrong, but that's how my professor described it.

I agree with revmedia. The knife is pointed at Jesus but's way too blunt for a stabbing.

1) The "disembodied" hand is not under the table, but above it. 2) The "disembodied" hand is pointed at the belly of the 3rd man from the left who has his hands up in the "oh no not me" pose. 3) The knife in question is curve bladed like the knife used by the Sicarii sect of assassins, which forms the basis of the 'Iscariot' in Judas' oft used name. 4) Judas' hands are both visible. 5) The "disembodied" hand appears connected to an arm with a brown sleeve that passes in front of 4th man from the left and behind the back of the 5th man from the left (Judas). 6) The arm of the 4th man on the left is clad in blue. 7) The arm of the 4th man on the left is oriented in a near vertical position (170 degrees) with the elbow raised as he leans forward to appear to whisper to the beloved apostle. In such a position it is not possible for the hand to be oriented with the palm facing the viewer with the fingers pointed directly to the left side of the painting. If the hand were on the hip as many claim, you would see the knucles from the front with the thumb oriented downward, not the palm and heel of the thumb. If the hand is on the hip and turned to the rear, the orientation would be similar, however the hand would be highly deformed in appearance and mostly, if not completely, hidden behind the arm. It is possible to reproduce the hand position on the hip, however when doing so the forearm has to be at an angle of greater than 180 degrees or else the wrist is too twisted. If you can reproduce such a pose, send me a photo of it. 7a) Just because there "may" be a "disembodied" hand in the painting does not imply a sinister or devious motive on the part of Leonardo. It could just be a mistake and if not, what valuable esoteric meaning is there in pointing a knife at the belly of an apostle? 8) It is well known that in many early Christian writings, the works of the Gnostic Christians and many other so-called "heretical" groups, that the Beloved Disciple was considered to be Mary Magdalene, not John. I could spend days writing arguments and quoting Biblical, apocryphal and gnostic sources to demonstrate this viewpoint. Accept the viewpoint or not, but it was a viewpoint shared by many. With that in mind, it is quite clear that the disciple on Jesus' right hand (viewers left) is the beloved disciple, Mary. For an easy check, read the Gospel of Mary, which is also called the Gospel of the Beloved Disciple. It was found in a cave in Egypt and is part of the Nag Hammadi Library. 9) The "beloved disciple" is clad in a blue tunic/gown with red robe. This is the traditional garment used in paintings of Mary (mother of Jesus) as well as Mary Magdalene. 10) The second man from the right is a self portrait of Leonardo da Vinci. 11) Because the Bible says there are 12 apostles and none of them are men, does not guarantee that a 16th century painter might not paint one as a woman. This is not the Bible, it is art. 12) Someone claimed that there is a "hidden" face of a man reaching in between the 3rd and 4th person on the right, bringing the number of "men" to 12 so that Mary would not have to be counted as one of the 12. You must have far better eyes and computer monitor than I. There is no such person depicted. There are 12 apostles and Jesus. One of the apostles is depicted as a woman. 13) The shape of the "Mary" figure and Jesus appear to form a large letter M. Some claim that this is also an egg and that it further symbolizes Mary. Rev. Robert Farrior, DD The Gnostic Church

Incidently, I just blew up the painting from http://www.artchive.com/artchive/L/leonardo/lastsupp.jpg.html and counted hands. I count 24 hands. I see 3 disciples only have one hand visible for 23 hands and the possible disembodied hand making 24. If someone really can count 27, tell us where the 2nd hand is for the 2nd apostle from our left and the 6th (or possible 5th depending on how you count him) from our right (the one pointing up). The 3rd one with only one hand is the questionable one with his hand on the John/Mary figures shoulder/neck. His 2nd hand is either missing or is the "disembodied" hand. Rev. Robert Farrior, DD The Gnostic Church

This is just a thought, but could be the hand holding the knife belong to the man/women beside Jesus?

You're not getting it - Da Vinci's supposed hidden message is that there are 12 disciples. Mary Magdalene is John - the beloved disciple.

Read "The DaVinci Code" by Dan Brown. There is significant evidence that the woman is Mary Magdalene. He also describes the knife and the reasons DaVinci painted them into "The Last Supper." Even though the book is fiction, his references to artwork and documents are accurate.

I've heard that Mary Magdalene is placed into the picture but represents John. I also have sen someone state that St. Peter(behind Judas) didn't like Mary Magdalene, so in the painting you can see his hand is up to Mary's throat.So, could the disembodied hand belong to him? ( it is also to be said St. Peter cut a soldiers ear, could that be the same knife?)

First of all, I just got on this site and I was looking at this painting. The answer to the knife is simple to me. A knife is not just a killing utensil, but also is used to eat with. Could it not have been something the 5th man from the left was using to eat, when Jesus' announcement of betrayal was made? As for the other "eggs" in the picture, they are still a mystery, but the knife question, in my mind, has been solved.

i know this might sound stupid but from looking at the painting one might think that the woman/man sitting to the RIGHT of jesus (to your left) is holding the knife! think about it..... also if u mesure the lenght of her arm (the one leading to the knife) it is almost as long as jesus's arm! that means that it is totaly posibble that it is the woman who is threateningg the man

revmedia....what can I say. your history sucks. rainlovers almost got it though. the new testament says the diciples were all men, but as the new testament was written 500 years after the event and the roman catholic church were trying to keep the church all male, they systematically erased as much proof as they could of any "good" women from the bible (new testament). Likewise they also try to say Jesus was not human but "more" than human, saintley, gods son. Rubbish, look at the old testament and you will find his parents there and he was human as you or me, well me anyway. The Knights Templar are not the ones responsible for guarding the secrets of the SanGreal or chalice (bloodline), the Priore de Zion are though (allegedly). The SanGreal is supposed to be proof that Mary Magdelene, JCs wife and not a prostitute, escaped to France and hid the truth about who she was so the church could not find her. So directly on the right of Jesus was Mary Magdelene who it is proved was "painted over" by authority of the church, so as to make the church more "masculine". Airbrushed out if you like in todays terms to help keep the church rolling. Just read the OT. The Priore de Zion is very much real, as is Opus Dei. If you need further proof of the Roman Catholic churches belief in a "maculine" church, Opus Dei follow what they call "the way". This they think fromreading the new testament is how "it" is meant to be. So if you decide to visit an Opus Dei office/place/centre, men go in the front door but women must go in through the side. Equality for you eh.

egg cracked www.davincisecrets.com

Hmmm.... Very strange. I find less hands, not more.

which bible should we read though? the new testament written 500 years after the event and changed dramatically from the old testament by the church because they did'nt want any women to play such an important part of their history. you know, the same church that had the painting altered to make mary look more like a man. the same church that chose 4 out of 60 gospels for its new bible.........(wonder why.....) or the old testament that explains the disciples were not in fact all men.? talk about brainwashed.

I have come to learn that the "disembodied" hand is ultimately the "hand" that killed Jesus. It belongs to no one in particular, but instead represents people as a whole, since it was the human race that ultimately killed Jesus by nailing Him to the cross. Also, the person to Jesus' right hand is Mary Magdalene, which was supposedly His wife. The large "M" that Mary and Jesus form is also cut down to be something similar to the letter "V", which is a feminine symbol. An old symbol of the feminine "goddess", for a lack of a better word. The Last Supper is supposedly to house the chalise, or the Holy Grail, within the painting. The Holy Grail or chalise was once thought of the cup which Jesus used during the last supper to drink from and which was also used soon after to catch His blood as it dripped during His cruxifiction. But, supposedly, the Holy Grail is not a cup at all but a person who, as the cup was said to have been filled with, held Jesus' Holy Blood. If you believe this, the Holy Grail is said to be none other than Mary Magdalene herself. She was supposedly the one who held Jesus' Holy Blood. How you ask? It is supposed to be written in the Dead Sea Scrolls, which are supposed to be the actual cronicles of Jesus' life (even the portion of the Bible that was supposedly removed during the decades) that told of the human aspects of His life and not just the "Divine" aspects, that Jesus and Mary Magdalene were not just married but bore a child as well. Hence, Mary Magdalene's womb became the chalice, or cup, or as some call it the Holy Grail, that held the Holy Blood. I would have to look into this further, but imagine that, Jesus had a child before His cruxification and it may be possible that His blood descendants still walk the earth. Where would they be now? Who knows! Maybe this is a question that could be answered on further readings. The implications of finding out this is all true would surely turn the world of Christianity on It's head. I don't want to be the one who causes that catastrophe, but I have been going over and over this in my mind! I'm not asking people to believe what I have written, because it is some information that I myself have just come across, but I am asking that we may consider the possibilities! How cool could that be? We could be a neighbor of Jesus's descendants and never know it!

This is a topic that can be debated forever with no answer. However to say that the Bible says that there is 12 apostles and that Da Vinci was painting what the Bible literally translates to is too narrow minded. He was an artist and artists interpret thins in different ways. There can be a million resons why he painted the knife the way he did and why he chose to paint the person next to Jesus unidentifiable. Personally however I know that the book The Da Vinci Code is fictional but Brown's facts are accurate. There are too many coincides to ignore. The clothes that Jesus and "Mary Magdelene " are wearing are the same colors only opposite which symbolizes unity the the "V" that they form between them is the symbol for "women". Everyone is entitled to their own opinion but I'm just stating my belief.

I found this at http://milano.arounder.com/PROJECTS/SANTA_MARIA_DELLE_GRAZIE/ You can zoom in to particular parts of the painting and it is high resolution so it seems much clearer than anything else I've ever seen. Also there is a whole piece to the painting that I have never seen before above the actual table. Under #3 on the top of the website just click "click to view". Hope it helps :)

I looked close at the painting and noticed the hand by Mary. In my opinion i dont think that hand belongs to the 2nd man to the right of Mary either. If you look at the position of his head and the position of the hand it seems to be imposible to get ones hand that way. In the painting you can see the top of the hand and fingers. When i tried to lean back like that it caused my hand to turn back towards my head causeing the palm to be noticable. My thoughts are that the hand belongs to the hand with the knife. The knife hand is a threat to the man with his hands up as to say be quiet. While the other is going for Marys throat.

Ok. I just noticed something. Look at the knife hand very close. There is a hand wrapped around the wrist! I don't know if this is what everyone has been saying so don't be all mad at me for saying that.

The 'beloved disciple' is definitely a woman in the painting. The wrist of the hand holding the knife has been grasped by Peter who is restraining it. It looks as if it would logiocally come from the 'BD' but her hands are clasped in front of her. Peter's hand across her throat would suggest restraint, too.

umm dudes I looked and the disembodied hand belongs to the dude in blue, the "brown tunic" is his peach skin darkened by a shadow, I zoomed in with melissa's link

Peter's hand, or is it hands, are only the second the most important clue. The hand that tells most about the story is pointing up in the "John gesture". Check it out at this blog: www.macewan.net?page_id=293. Dwayne

the third guy on the left is in the Village People

Check out the book, "The Secret Supper" by Javier Sierra. It puts a whole new twist on DaVinci's Last Supper. While this book is a work of fiction (as is The DaVinci Code)it gives a whole different perspective to the Last Supper frescoe which, in my opinion, is more plausible than the ideas set forth in Dan Brown's book. (although I very much enjoyed "The DaVinci Code")You can get more information about "The Secret Supper" at www.secretsupper.com.

I'm surprised that no one has noticed the knot in the end of the tablecloth on the right hand side (as we would view the painting). There is no knot on the left end of the tablecloth.

Judas is often painted in other work with long hair and a "womanly" face. it could just be that judas looks like a woman, and it is not actually mary.

Well, Brother Bob may be right in some respects, but I have a completely different view. Many have searched for the 'Holy Grail' in the painting, but so far none have spotted it. My point is not that i have found the 'Holy Grail' because I have and it has nothing to do with this comment. I found the 'Holy Grail' above Bartholomew's head who is seated on the far left in the blue. Once you have seen it you will not miss it again. But this is not my point. Da Vinci put two 'Grails' in. The one above Bartholomew's head, and one somewhere else. 'The knife' that you see is not a knife, but actually a 'Graille'. A Graille was an old tool used by carpenters and such. It was used for filing down surfaces such as wood. If you look closely you will see that it doesn't actually bare that much remblance to a knife anyway. Look at the mans belly where the knife is pointed. His belly seems rather larger in proportion to his body. It is simply Da Vinci saying that he is not happy with the size of the belly and he would like to make it smaller or file it down without having to ruin the picture. Also, the M shape that Jesus and 'Mary' form looks more like a V. The pillar behind it looks like a phallus (p*nis). The pillar is inside the V, signifying procreation. Mary was supposedly pregnant with Jesus' child.

The person to Jesus' right is undoubtably a woman. But, honestly, this woman looks EXACTLY like the person who is portraying to be Jesus. I say portraying, because if you look at the person to the left of "Jesus", it looks to be more like Jesus, himself. Look for yourself.

1. Judas is holding the bag of coins, which are silver, not gold. 2. John, the "beloved disciple," to Jesus' right, was often portrayed as with flowing blonde hair, etc. He was one of the most devoted, and potentially the youngest disciple of Christ. It was not uncommon for him to be depicted as such. 3. The knife belongs to Peter (the old guy) who had the selfsame knife with him in Gethsemane when he severed the ear of Malchus. 4. John, in the story, leans over to Christ. Therefore, must have sat near him. Peter (with knife) asks John about what Christ has just said. 5. Read into the "V" or whatever and find as many "phallic symbols" as you want, and while you're at it, go read "Freud on Seuss" http://www.contrib.andrew.cmu.edu/~norm/CatInHat.html

It's not a 'disembodied' hand, you idiots. If you look at it, it is actually the hand of the fourth disciple from the left. It is bent at the wrist and placed on his hip. The so-called brown sleeve is shadow. There you go, you clowns. You can make it out easily from here: http://www.artchive.com/artchive/L/leonardo/lastsupp.jpg.html

You people must all be blind, the point of the blade on the knife is not pointed towards jesus, it is pointed toward the guy next to him, hence the fact that he (the guy next to the one with the knife) has his hands raised off the table like that... he doesn't want to be stabbed...

I'm of the opinion that there IS, in fact, an extra hand in the picture. But first, read the account of the Last Supper in John, specifically Chapter 15, verse 24. Da Vinci has caught this exact moment! Prior to this, Jesus has just announced that one of his disciples will betray him. Da Vinci shows most with expressions of shock, or disbelief, or even wondering if it might be them. In the NIV "His disciples stared at one another, at a loss to know which of them he meant. One of them, the disciple whom Jesus loved, was reclining next to him. Simon Peter motioned to this disciple and said 'Ask him which one he means.'" Here's what I see: the knife is actually in the hand of John. Peter's "motioning" is more dramatic: with his right hand, Peter has grabbed John by John's right hand - the hand with the knife (Peter's hand appears to be wrapped around the wrist of John), and has his left hand over the right shoulder of John, as he draws John (who had been leaning against Jesus) to him, to tell John "Ask him which one he means." The next verse says "Leaning BACK (my emphasis) against Jesus, he asked him..." As to the appearance of John, see also Da Vinci's painting of John the Baptist, which also looks very feminine. The extra hand? Dunno. Mistake? What if John is NOT folding his hands together, but rather has his hand grasping something else, maybe a bowl or goblet? Food for thought, anyhow! Bob

I know the Da Vinci Code is fiction but everything that I have read here is complete and utter nonsense. Yes, there are many women mentioned in the letters written by Paul and others to the churches, many of them prominent women from prominent families. But that does not mean that Mary, if she were a disciple or apostle, was married to Him. There are several Mary's mentioned in the Gospels also, so why does everyone pick on Mary Magdelene. Jesus was never married, nor did he have any children. Do you honestly believe that God, Jesus' true father, sent Him to save us, and then let Him marry Mary, or anyone else, and have offspring before he was crucified? Where does that fall into the Great Plan and the Holy Kingdom? Also, I don't know where everyone is getting the idea that the New Testiment was written 500 years after the Crucifiction. How could John, or Paul, or Matthew, and Luke write them after they were dead for hundreds of years? The Letters (Acts, Corinthians, et. al.)are letters to the new church, written within 30 to 40 years after Christ's death and resurrection, not hundreds of years. There is no Holy Grail, either. It is a Medieval story, which goes along with the legend of King Arthur and reflects man's search for the Holy, not a cup or chalice, or wife.

The hand with the knife clearly belongs to Peter leaning over to question John. The twisted wrist results because Peter is straining and unbalanced as he leans over 'tea pot' style. Try the motion yourself, a bent wrist easily and quite naturally results. The blade is clearly pointing away from Jesus.

looking at the picture that you can zoom in on (http://milano.arounder.com/da_vinci_last_supper/fullscreen.html) you can clearly see that all the hands are accounted for, including the hand with the knife. the guy holding Mary's shoulder has his hand bent on his hip and has his elbow jutting out towards you. he is clearly holding the knife, no?

The painting above on the left is not the work of Leonardo Da Vinci, but one of two early copies. It is attributed to Giampetrino (Giovanni Pietro Rizzoli), who was a talented assistant of Leonardo’s in Milan, is now generally accepted. So the fact that there are oddities or differences is not surprising. However, it may shed light on lost detail of the original work. Like the many books mentioned in the other posts, the artwork as well is fiction based on fact. The depictions are of what is hoped for or imagined. Thats all.

Why is it that I can count 26 hands on the table. Mary seems to have two hands intertwined infront of her like she's holding someones hand and it looks like there's one on the table right below the hand of the man on the right of Jesus that looks like he leaning back in disbelief. Does anyone else see that or am I seeing things.

I think that Made has it right. The hand holding a knife is being grasped by the man behind Judas. Therefore, the hand holding the knife belongs to the Mary/John character.

if you count correctly there are 14 person in picture and 24 hands so there must be 28 hands so i think there is 4 less hands

...Actually i also agree, the hand with the knife is NOT floating or lacking of a body in any way, it belongs to the man with the brown clothes. He is holding it on his side, if anything it looks funny because the guy that look suprised to have a blade by his stomache is like " DUDE! Easy with the knife man!"

Ok with the regard to the hands... when counting the people going left to right (using their HEAD position not their body position) this is what I have come up with: 1) Both hands are on the table (2 hands so far) 2) Right hand is on "3"'s shoulder and his left hand is behind "3" touching "5" (Peter) (4 hands so far) 3) Hands raised (that makes 6) 4) Judas - (counting heads not bodies)the left hand is reaching and the right is holding (8 so far and all accounted for) 5) Paul - Left on shoulder of "6" (Mary/John) and right on or near hip holding a knife (this is fuzzy in "pre-restored" pictures and quite plain in "restored" pictures - wish I could go and see for myself) (10 hands and counting) 6) John/Mary - Both hands folded together on the table (12 hands so far) 7) Jesus - Both hands on the table (14 - with me?) 8) right hand with finger pointing up I SEE NO LEFT HAND HERE - however the painting seems to imply that "8" is standing behind "9" & "10" (15 hands) 9) Both hands are held out (17 hands) 10) Both hands pointing at himself (19 hands) 11) Both hands gesturing toward Jesus (21 hands and we are almost there) 12) Left hand resting on table and right hand directly above (23 hands and one more person to go) 13) Both hands out in front in a gesture (25 hands) Ok... so I have counted 25 hands. Out of 13 people - only one hand (person #8)is "missing" and seems to be implied that you just can't see it due to another person in the painting being in the way. I have read all of the info here and several other places and having not seen the actual painting (how many of you have?) I don't make out any of the other "eggs"; like the "grail" and such. I do know that historically - MOST of these men were Jews and therefore there should be more beards, darker skin and hair, and brown eyes. I also know that the Church sees them self as Jesus' bride and therefore #6 (Mary/John) would be a male and thus John. I think that there was a lot of artistic license here, but the painting had to have pleased the commissioner -else Leonardo would not have been paid. I do think it sad that the materials have not held up, but considering what the painting has been through (a horse barn, a hay barn, bombed by Allies, ect.) it has done relatively well. With all of the different restorations we don't even have Leonardo's actual painting anymore. I wish I could have seen it in it's glory.