Created by Ajay Kumar
Last edited February 12, 2026
Creating a new article
 
content update
 
Line 1: Line 1:
{{Italic title}}{{Under construction|placedby=}}{{Infobox artwork
{{Short description|2004 photographic mural by John Byrne}}
{{Use dmy dates|date=September 2023}}
{{Infobox artwork
| title = Dublin's Last Supper
| title = Dublin's Last Supper
| image = Dublin's Last Supper by John Byrne.jpg
| image = Dublin's Last Supper by John Byrne.jpg
| artist = [[John Byrne]]
| caption = ''Dublin's Last Supper'' in 2011
| artist = [[John Byrne (Irish artist)|John Byrne]]
| year = 2004
| year = 2004
| dimensions = 220 cm x 930 cm
| medium = [[Vitreous enamel]] on steel
| height_metric = 220
| width_metric = 930
| width_imperial = 366 <!-- manually defined to avoid discrepancy with {{convert}} in lead -->
| metric_unit = cm
| museum = Bloom Lane
| city = Dublin
| city = Dublin
| coordinates = {{coord|53|20|48|N|6|15|54|W|type:landmark_region:IE-D|display=inline,title}}
}}
}}
'''''Dublin's Last Supper''''' is a photographic mural by Irish artist [[John Byrne (Irish artist)|John Byrne]], which was installed in the city's [[Italian Quarter, Dublin|Italian Quarter]] in 2004. Modeled on [[The Last Supper (Leonardo)|Leonardo da Vinci's ''The Last Supper'']]'','' the work features contemporary [[Dublin|Dubliners]] as [[Jesus]] and the [[Apostles in the New Testament|Twelve Apostles]].<ref name=":0">{{Cite news |last=St. Martin |first=Marina |date=7 April 2012 |title=The Supper Club |work=The Gold Coast Bulletin |url=https://search.ebscohost.com/login.aspx?direct=true&db=bwh&AN=20120407Q023378743&lang=en-gb&site=eds-live&scope=site |access-date=2023-08-27 |via=[[EBSCOHost]]}}</ref> Measuring 2.2 metres by 9.3 metres, ''Dublin's Last Supper'' is printed on [[vitreous enamel]] covering nine steel panels installed along Millennium Walk.<ref name=":0" /><ref name=":1">{{Cite book |last=McNally |first=Frank |title=111 places in Dublin that you shouldn't miss |publisher=Emons Verlag GmbH |year=2015 |isbn=978-3-95451-649-0 |location=Germany |pages=72 |chapter=32 – Dublin's Last Supper – An Irish twist on an Italian classic}}</ref><ref name=":3" />
'''''Dublin's Last Supper''''' is a photographic mural by Irish artist [[John Byrne (Irish artist)|John Byrne]] that was installed in [[Dublin]]'s [[Italian Quarter, Dublin|Italian Quarter]] in 2004. The work features contemporary Dubliners as [[Jesus]] and the [[Apostles in the New Testament|Twelve Apostles]], reenacting ''[[The Last Supper (Leonardo)|The Last Supper]]'' by [[Leonardo da Vinci]].<ref name=":0">{{Cite news |last=St. Martin |first=Marina |date=7 April 2012 |title=The Supper Club |work=The Gold Coast Bulletin |url=https://search.ebscohost.com/login.aspx?direct=true&db=bwh&AN=20120407Q023378743&lang=en-gb&site=eds-live&scope=site |access-date=2023-08-27 |via=[[EBSCOHost]]}}</ref> Measuring {{convert|220|by|930|cm}}, ''Dublin's Last Supper'' is printed on [[vitreous enamel]] covering nine steel panels installed along Bloom Lane, part of the Millennium Walkway.<ref name=":0" /><ref name=":1">{{Cite book |last=McNally |first=Frank |title=111 places in Dublin that you shouldn't miss |publisher=Emons Verlag GmbH |year=2015 |isbn=978-3-95451-649-0 |location=Germany |pages=72 |chapter=32 – Dublin's Last Supper – An Irish twist on an Italian classic}}</ref><ref name=":3" />


== Background ==
== Background ==
In 2003, Byrne was approached by curator Clíodhna Shaffrey to submit a proposal for the project, which was commissioned by developer [[Mick Wallace]] of M&J Wallace, as a centrepiece for the [[Italian Quarter, Dublin|Italian Quarter in Dublin]].<ref name=":2">{{Cite news |last=Thomas |first=Cónal |date=10 February 2016 |title=Brushing up: that mural on Millennium Walk |work=Dublin InQuirer |url=https://dublininquirer.com/2016/02/10/brushing-up-that-mural-on-millennium-walk/ |access-date=2023-08-27}}</ref><ref name=":3">{{Cite web |title=Dublin's Last Supper |url=https://publicart.ie/main/directory/directory/view/dublins-last-supper/e793abe5734565de4ef3ce199861dac5/ |access-date=2023-08-27 |website=Publicart.ie}}</ref>  
In 2003, Byrne was approached by curator Clíodhna Shaffrey to submit a proposal for the project, which was commissioned by developer [[Mick Wallace]] of M&J Wallace, as a centrepiece for the [[Italian Quarter, Dublin|Italian Quarter in Dublin]].<ref name=":2">{{Cite news |last=Thomas |first=Cónal |date=10 February 2016 |title=Brushing up: that mural on Millennium Walk |work=Dublin InQuirer |url=https://dublininquirer.com/2016/02/10/brushing-up-that-mural-on-millennium-walk/ |access-date=2023-08-27}}</ref><ref name=":3">{{Cite web |title=Dublin's Last Supper |url=https://publicart.ie/main/directory/directory/view/dublins-last-supper/e793abe5734565de4ef3ce199861dac5/ |access-date=2023-08-27 |website=Publicart.ie}}</ref>


In February 2004, Byrne started recruiting local models on the streets of Dublin, based on their resemblance to the figures in da Vinci's work.<ref name=":2" /><ref>{{Cite news |last=Buckley |first=Donal |date=1 April 2022 |title=Units in Wallace's 'Italian Quarter' sold off at discount: PROPERTY |work=[[Irish Independent]] |url=https://www.proquest.com/newspapers/units-wallaces-italian-quarter-sold-off-at/docview/2645746294/se-2 |access-date=2023-08-27 |via=[[ProQuest]]}}</ref> He approached a total of 150 potential candidates, who were narrowed down to 13 following rehearsals and screen tests.<ref name=":1" /> The models were Dubliners from a wide range of social and ethnic backgrounds, and included three women.<ref name=":1" /> Jesus was portrayed by Kulpreet Singh, an Indian Sikh PhD student at [[Trinity College Dublin]].<ref name=":3" /><ref name=":1" /> The apostles were portrayed by Dubliners representing a variety of professions, including a tattoo artist, a librarian, an actor, a travel centre employee, an ecologist, a building worker, a network analyst, and various other students.<ref name=":3" />
In February 2004, Byrne started recruiting local models on the streets of Dublin, based on their resemblance to the figures in Leonardo's work.<ref name=":2" /><ref>{{Cite news |last=Buckley |first=Donal |date=1 April 2022 |title=Units in Wallace's 'Italian Quarter' sold off at discount: PROPERTY |work=[[Irish Independent]] |url=https://www.proquest.com/docview/2645746294 |access-date=2023-08-27 |id={{ProQuest|2645746294}} }}</ref> He approached a total of 150 potential candidates, who were narrowed down to 13 following rehearsals and screen tests.<ref name=":1" /> The models were Dubliners from a wide range of social, ethnic, and religious backgrounds, and included three women.<ref name=":1" /><ref name=":4" /> Jesus was portrayed by Kulpreet Singh, an Indian Sikh PhD student at [[Trinity College Dublin]].<ref name=":3" /><ref name=":1" /> The apostles were portrayed by Dubliners from a variety of professions, including a tattoo artist, a librarian, an actor, a travel centre employee, an ecologist, a building worker, a network analyst, and various other students.<ref name=":3" />


Byrne photographed the models at a studio in Cow's Lane, in groups of one to three people at a time.<ref name=":2" /> The photographs were scanned in high resolution and sent to Belgium, where they were transposed onto nine panels of vitreous enamel.<ref name=":2" /> Byrne oversaw the installation in Dublin in July 2004.<ref name=":2" />
The models' costumes were created by Irish vintage fashion designer Jean Cronin.<ref name=":3" /><ref name=":4" /> In July 2004, the 13 models were photographed in the Church of St Michael and St John at [[Temple Bar, Dublin|Temple Bar]], in seven separate groups of one to three people at a time.<ref name=":4">{{Cite news |last=Powers |first=Jane |date=3 July 2004 |title=Guess Who's Coming To Dinner; Jane Powers watches a team at work on a photographic re-enactment of Leonardo da Vinci's Last Supper |work=[[Irish Times]] |url=https://www.proquest.com/docview/309742452 |access-date=2023-09-02 |id={{ProQuest|309742452}} }}</ref><ref name=":1" /><ref name=":2" /> The photographs were scanned in high resolution and sent to Belgium, where they were transposed onto nine panels of vitreous enamel.<ref name=":2" /> Byrne oversaw the installation in Dublin later that month.<ref name=":2" />


== Description ==
== Description ==
The Twelve Apostles dining with Jesus are dressed in contemporary clothing with a medieval style which evokes da Vinci's original work.<ref name=":2" /> The exception is [[Judas Iscariot|Judas]], who is dressed in a suit and appears to be a banker or businessman.<ref name=":2" />
[[File:Dublin's Last Supper, 2004, Ireland.jpg|center|thumb|600x600px|''Dublin's Last Supper'', photographed in 2021]]


The table itself is laid with [[Soda bread|Irish soda bread]] and a teapot, in addition to wine and fruit.<ref name=":1" /> Other elements include a [[Juventus FC|Juventus]] jersey draped over a chair in the corner, which is an homage to Mick Wallace, an avid football fan.<ref name=":1" /><ref name=":2" />
The Twelve Apostles dining with Jesus are dressed in contemporary clothing in a medieval style, evoking Leonardo's original work.<ref name=":2" /> The exception is [[Judas Iscariot|Judas]], who is dressed in a business suit and appears to be a banker or businessman.<ref name=":2" /> The table itself is laid with [[Soda bread|Irish soda bread]] and a red teapot, in addition to wine and fruit.<ref name=":1" /><ref name=":4" /> Other elements include a [[Juventus FC|Juventus]] jersey draped over a chair in the corner, which is an homage to Mick Wallace, an [[Italophilia|Italophile]] and avid football fan.<ref name=":1" /><ref name=":2" /> The background is a cross-section of the ruined [[St. Luke's Church, Dublin|St Luke's Church]] on [[The Coombe, Dublin|the Coombe]] in Dublin, with the dome of the [[Four Courts]] in the distance.<ref name=":1" /><ref name=":3" />


The background is a cross-section of the ruined [[St. Luke's Church, Dublin|St Luke's Church]] in the Coombe, with the dome of the [[Four Courts]] in the distance.<ref name=":1" /><ref name=":3" />
== Reception ==
[[File:Dublin's Last Supper, 2004, Ireland.jpg|center|thumb|600x600px|''Dublin's Last Supper'' (2004) by [[John Byrne (Irish artist)|John Byrne]]]]
''Dublin's Last Supper'' has been called "witty"<ref>{{Cite news |last=Godley |first=Gerry |date=2 August 2006 |title=Out on the town |work=[[Irish Times]] |url=https://www.proquest.com/docview/308862822 |access-date=2023-09-02 |id={{ProQuest|308862822}} }}</ref> and "irreverent".<ref name=":22">{{Cite news |last1=O'Toole |first1=Shane |last2=McDonald |first2=Frank |date=3 March 2018 |title=Dublin's north quays: Then and now in photographs |newspaper=[[The Irish Times]] |url=https://www.irishtimes.com/culture/art-and-design/dublin-s-north-quays-then-and-now-in-photographs-1.3411527 |access-date=2023-09-02}}</ref> Although the work has been regarded by some as "blasphemous",<ref name=":2" /> according to journalist Frank McNally, "''The Last Supper'' has survived to become one of the city's better-loved public works of art."<ref name=":1" />


== Reception ==
Artist Catherine Marshall wrote in ''[[The Irish Times]]'' that ''Dublin's Last Supper'' "subtly suggests that the [[Renaissance]] has finally come to Ireland in the form of cafe culture, while at the same time pointing to growing pluralism in Ireland, and the new religion of [[consumerism]]."<ref>{{Cite news |last=Marshall |first=Catherine |date=22 November 2008 |title=Writing up Irish art – Catherine Marshall on John Byrne |work=[[Irish Times]] |url=https://www.proquest.com/docview/309095464 |access-date=2023-08-27 |id={{ProQuest|309095464}} }}</ref>
''[[The Irish Times]]'' has suggested that ''Dublin's Last Supper'' "subtly suggests that the [[Renaissance]] has finally come to Ireland in the form of cafe culture, while at the same time pointing to growing pluralism in Ireland, and the new religion of [[consumerism]]."<ref>{{Cite news |last=Marshall |first=Catherine |date=22 November 2008 |title=Writing up Irish art – Catherine Marshall on John Byrne |work=[[Irish Times]] |url=https://www.proquest.com/newspapers/writing-up-irish-art/docview/309095464/se-2 |access-date=2023-08-27 |via=[[ProQuest]]}}</ref>
 
In 2008, an article in ''The Irish Times'' observed that the mural had remained "miraculously unvandalised, except for the occasional graffiti".<ref>{{Cite news |date=29 October 2008 |title=An Irishman's Diary |work=[[Irish Times]] |url=https://www.proquest.com/docview/309095210 |access-date=2023-09-02 |id={{ProQuest|309095210}} }}</ref>
 
==See also==
* [[List of public art in Dublin]]
* [[The Last Supper (photograph)|''The Last Supper'' (photograph)]]


== References ==
== References ==
{{reflist}}
{{reflist}}
{{Last Supper in art}}


[[Category:Public art in Ireland]]
[[Category:Public art in Ireland]]
[[Category:Last Supper in art]]
[[Category:2000s murals]]
[[Category:2004 works]]
[[Category:2000s in Dublin (city)]]
[[Category:2004 in Ireland]]
[[Category:2004 establishments in Ireland]]

Latest revision as of 12:24, 12 February 2026


Dublin's Last Supper
Dublin's Last Supper in 2011
ArtistJohn Byrne
Year2004
MediumVitreous enamel on steel
Dimensions220 cm × 930 cm (87 in × 366 in)
LocationBloom Lane, Dublin
Coordinates53°20′48″N 6°15′54″W / 53.34667°N 6.26500°W / 53.34667; -6.26500

Dublin's Last Supper is a photographic mural by Irish artist John Byrne that was installed in Dublin's Italian Quarter in 2004. The work features contemporary Dubliners as Jesus and the Twelve Apostles, reenacting The Last Supper by Leonardo da Vinci.[1] Measuring 220 by 930 centimetres (87 by 366 in), Dublin's Last Supper is printed on vitreous enamel covering nine steel panels installed along Bloom Lane, part of the Millennium Walkway.[1][2][3]

Background[edit | edit source]

In 2003, Byrne was approached by curator Clíodhna Shaffrey to submit a proposal for the project, which was commissioned by developer Mick Wallace of M&J Wallace, as a centrepiece for the Italian Quarter in Dublin.[4][3]

In February 2004, Byrne started recruiting local models on the streets of Dublin, based on their resemblance to the figures in Leonardo's work.[4][5] He approached a total of 150 potential candidates, who were narrowed down to 13 following rehearsals and screen tests.[2] The models were Dubliners from a wide range of social, ethnic, and religious backgrounds, and included three women.[2][6] Jesus was portrayed by Kulpreet Singh, an Indian Sikh PhD student at Trinity College Dublin.[3][2] The apostles were portrayed by Dubliners from a variety of professions, including a tattoo artist, a librarian, an actor, a travel centre employee, an ecologist, a building worker, a network analyst, and various other students.[3]

The models' costumes were created by Irish vintage fashion designer Jean Cronin.[3][6] In July 2004, the 13 models were photographed in the Church of St Michael and St John at Temple Bar, in seven separate groups of one to three people at a time.[6][2][4] The photographs were scanned in high resolution and sent to Belgium, where they were transposed onto nine panels of vitreous enamel.[4] Byrne oversaw the installation in Dublin later that month.[4]

Description[edit | edit source]

Dublin's Last Supper, photographed in 2021

The Twelve Apostles dining with Jesus are dressed in contemporary clothing in a medieval style, evoking Leonardo's original work.[4] The exception is Judas, who is dressed in a business suit and appears to be a banker or businessman.[4] The table itself is laid with Irish soda bread and a red teapot, in addition to wine and fruit.[2][6] Other elements include a Juventus jersey draped over a chair in the corner, which is an homage to Mick Wallace, an Italophile and avid football fan.[2][4] The background is a cross-section of the ruined St Luke's Church on the Coombe in Dublin, with the dome of the Four Courts in the distance.[2][3]

Reception[edit | edit source]

Dublin's Last Supper has been called "witty"[7] and "irreverent".[8] Although the work has been regarded by some as "blasphemous",[4] according to journalist Frank McNally, "The Last Supper has survived to become one of the city's better-loved public works of art."[2]

Artist Catherine Marshall wrote in The Irish Times that Dublin's Last Supper "subtly suggests that the Renaissance has finally come to Ireland in the form of cafe culture, while at the same time pointing to growing pluralism in Ireland, and the new religion of consumerism."[9]

In 2008, an article in The Irish Times observed that the mural had remained "miraculously unvandalised, except for the occasional graffiti".[10]

See also[edit | edit source]

References[edit | edit source]

  1. 1.0 1.1 St. Martin, Marina (7 April 2012). "The Supper Club". The Gold Coast Bulletin. Retrieved 27 August 2023 – via EBSCOHost.
  2. 2.0 2.1 2.2 2.3 2.4 2.5 2.6 2.7 2.8 McNally, Frank (2015). "32 – Dublin's Last Supper – An Irish twist on an Italian classic". 111 places in Dublin that you shouldn't miss. Germany: Emons Verlag GmbH. p. 72. ISBN 978-3-95451-649-0.
  3. 3.0 3.1 3.2 3.3 3.4 3.5 "Dublin's Last Supper". Publicart.ie. Retrieved 27 August 2023.
  4. 4.0 4.1 4.2 4.3 4.4 4.5 4.6 4.7 4.8 Thomas, Cónal (10 February 2016). "Brushing up: that mural on Millennium Walk". Dublin InQuirer. Retrieved 27 August 2023.
  5. Buckley, Donal (1 April 2022). "Units in Wallace's 'Italian Quarter' sold off at discount: PROPERTY". Irish Independent. ProQuest 2645746294. Retrieved 27 August 2023.
  6. 6.0 6.1 6.2 6.3 Powers, Jane (3 July 2004). "Guess Who's Coming To Dinner; Jane Powers watches a team at work on a photographic re-enactment of Leonardo da Vinci's Last Supper". Irish Times. ProQuest 309742452. Retrieved 2 September 2023.
  7. Godley, Gerry (2 August 2006). "Out on the town". Irish Times. ProQuest 308862822. Retrieved 2 September 2023.
  8. O'Toole, Shane; McDonald, Frank (3 March 2018). "Dublin's north quays: Then and now in photographs". The Irish Times. Retrieved 2 September 2023.
  9. Marshall, Catherine (22 November 2008). "Writing up Irish art – Catherine Marshall on John Byrne". Irish Times. ProQuest 309095464. Retrieved 27 August 2023.
  10. "An Irishman's Diary". Irish Times. 29 October 2008. ProQuest 309095210. Retrieved 2 September 2023.

Template:Last Supper in art