The Last Supper. And the one after that. And after that. And then, even more.

Above: The Sopranos Last Supper for Vanity Fair magazine

Whenever I see popular blog posts and online articles about something in pop culture that references something historical, I always wonder if the ... ahem, younger generations know the origin of the original and how many other interpretations had been created prior to the one they tweeted, tagged, posted on 'digg' or shared on facebook.

Such is the case with a link someone sent me of fun parodies based on Leonardo da Vinci's The Last Supper. I'd seen the Soprano's Last Supper photo in Vanity Fair and was familiar with the Legos one, since it had been e-mailed to me a ways back. Along with those, the link included just about every pop culture version you could think of -from the Simpsons to Star Wars.


Above: The Last Supper made of Legos

This got me wondering if the people viewing it were aware that The Last Supper was a subject for many well known artists from the 14th-20th centuries, not just da Vinci. From Albrecht Durer to Rembrandt, Tintoretto to Blake, the subject was interpreted by almost every painter who painted for money for centuries. Common sense would tell you that, given that biblical scenes and stories dominated the art world long before any other subjects. But I wondered how many people e-mailing that very link also know that the piece has since been interpreted by the likes of such artists as Salvador Dali, Andy Warhol, Damien Hirst and even photographer David LaChapelle, to name a few.

Well, if they didn't, you can e-mail them this post.

I'm not going to show you the scads of photoshopped and parody versions out there in cyberspace because so many other bloggers have done that already*. Instead of parodies, I wanted to show you other fine art and photographer's interpretations of Leonardo da Vinci's famous painting. Don't groan... you may just learn something.

You are probably used to seeing the original like the one below:

But that is very enhanced for reproductions like posters, etc. To be more accurate, see the next two images (and click on them to enlarge)


Let's start with the original:

Above: before cleaning

Above: after cleaning

Facts:
The subject: The Last Supper
Painted by: Leonardo da Vinci
Where: Milan, refectory of the Santa Maria delle Grazie convent
When: From 1494 to 1498
Size: 460 x 880 cm (181 x 346 in)
Technique: Tempera with oils on white lead and calcium carbonate


A site where you can see the Leonardo DaVinci's Last Supper in amazing detail, down to a pixel.

Wanna see it in person? Please note that starting from April 28th it is possible to book until 30/09/2008. entrance booking info here.

And now some wonderful fine art interpretations of the Last Supper, in chronological order:


Above: Marisol Escobar's Last Supper (1930) installation


Above: Salvador Dali's The Sacrament Of The Last Supper, 1955


Above: Mary Beth Edelson's feminist interpretation, 1971


Above: Hermann Nitsch's Last Supper (1976-9)


Above: Andy Warhol's Last Supper (pink), 1986


Above: Andy Warhol's Last Supper (Dove), 1986

above: Andy Warhol,Last Supper, 1986


Above: Damien Hirst's "Last Supper", 1999


Above: two of the 13 screenprints from Damien Hirst's "The Last Supper" collection, 1999




Above: Devorah Sperber's unusual installation, After The Last Supper, 2005




Above: Francine LeClercq's impressive Last Supper Untitled (installation), 2007

Now, some photographic interpretations of the The Last Supper for both advertising campaigns and personal collections:

above: Underwater Last Supper by photographer Howard Schatz, 2008


Above: by photographer Marcos López, 2001


Above: by photographer Cui Xiuwen, 2003


Above: by Russian film director, Mamedov


Above: by photographer David LaChapelle


Above: unknown photographer, an ad for the Folsom Street Fair


Above: controversial recreation by photographer Elisabth Ohlsen Watson


Above: Fashion shot by Frank Herholdt


Above: unknown photographer, ad for Francois Girbaud


Above: shot by Annie Liebovitz for Vanity Fair & HBO

Okay, now I know you're dying to see all the parodies (like the one below), so here are the links to those:

above: Clowns Last Supper by artist known as Dark Vomit

*An enormous collection of pop culture and television interpretations of the Last Supper from the Slog, posted by Dan Savage

And yet another collection, Suddenly Last Supper, of photoshopped, staged and fun pop culture versions from The Sopranos to Legos of The Last Supper can be found here.

For real art history buffs, here are links to just a few of the other historical religious paintings of the last supper:

Last Supper, Ickleton, Cambridgeshire, 1150-1200. Medieval Wall Painting in the English Parish Church.
Lord's Supper, German Gothic Sculptor, c 1250. Web Gallery of Art.
Last Supper/Communion of the Apostles, Liturgical Veil, 13th/14th century. Benaki Museum, Athens.
Last Supper, Wissington, Suffolk, 13th century. Medieval Wall Painting in the English Parish Church.
The Last Supper and the Agony in the Garden, Spolto, c 1300. Worcester Art Museum.
Last Supper, Fairstead, Essex, 13??. Medieval Wall Painting in the English Parish Church.
Scenes from the Life of Christ: 13. Last Supper, Giotto di Bondone, 1304-1306.
The Last Supper, Duccio di Buoninsegna, 1308-1311. CGFA.
The Last Supper, Friskney, Lincs, c 1320. Medieval Wall Painting in the English Parish Church.
The Last Supper, Pietro Lorenzetti, 1320-1330. Olga's Gallery.
The Last Supper, Jaume Serra, 1370-1400. Web Gallery of Art.
The Last Supper, Little Tey, Essex, 14??. Medieval Wall Painting in the English Parish Church.
The Last Supper, Jaume Huguet, 1450. CGFA.
Communion of the Apostles, Fra Angelico, 1451-53. CGFA.
The Last Supper, Jacopo Bassano, 1542. Galleria Borghese, Rome.
The Last Supper, Dieric Bouts, 1464-67. Web Gallery of Art.
The Last Supper, Taddeo Crivelli, 1469. Getty Museum.
The Last Supper, Jaime Huguet, 1470. Web Gallery of Art.
The Last Supper, Domenico Ghirlandaio, 1476. Web Gallery of Art
The Last Supper, Domenico Ghirlandaio, 1480. Web Gallery of Art
The Last Supper, Domenico Ghirlandaio, c 1486. Web Gallery of Art
The Last Supper, Pietro Perugino, 1493-96. Web Gallery of Art.
The Last Supper, Leonardo daVinci, 1498.
The Last Supper, Bernaert van Orley, 1500's. Metropolitan Museum of Art.
The Last Supper, Little Easton, Essex, 15??. Medieval Wall Painting in the English Parish Church.
Christ Instructing Peter and John to Prepare for the Passover, Vincenzo Civerchio, 1504. National
Gallery of Art.
The Last Supper, Albrecht Dürer, 1510.
The Last Supper, Franciabigio, 1514. Web Gallery of Art.
The Last Supper, Albrecht Dürer, 1523.
The Last Supper, Andrea del Sarto, 1520-25. Web Gallery of Art.
The Last Supper, Albrecht Durer, c 1520. Lutheran Brotherhood's Collection of Religious Art
The Last Supper, Bernart van Orley, 1520-1530. Metropolitan Museum of Art.
The Last Supper, Hans Holbein the Younger, 1524-25. CGFA.
Triptypch with the Last Supper, Jacob Cornelisz van Oostsanen. Rijksmuseum, Amsterdam.
Plaque with the Last Supper, Jean Penicaud I, c 1530. National Gallery of Art.
The Last Supper, Jacopo Bassano, 1542. Borghese Barberini Corsini Spada Gallery, Milan.
The Last Supper, Juan deJuanes, 1560's. Web Gallery of Art.
The Last Supper, Tintoretto, 1592-94. Web Gallery of Art
The Last Supper, Daniele Crespi, 1624-25. Web Gallery of Art.
The Last Supper, Peter Paul Rubens, 1630. Olga's Gallery.
Glorification of the Eucharist, Rubens, 1630. Metropolitan Museum of Art.
The Last Supper, Rembrandt van Rijn, 1634-35. Metropolitan Museum of Art.
The Last Supper, Philippe de Champaigne, 1600's. CGFA.
The Last Supper, Nicolas Poussin, 1640's. Olga's Gallery.
The Last Supper, Gerbrand van den Eeckhout, 1664. Rijksmuseum, Amsterdam.
The Last Supper, Simon Ushakov, 1685. History of Russian Painting.
The Last Supper, Sebastiano Ricci, 1713/1714. National Gallery of Art.
The Last Supper, William Blake, 1799. National Gallery of Art.
The Last Supper, Nikolay Gay, 1863. Olga's Gallery.
The Last Supper, Carl Bloch, 1875, Hope Gallery.

Of course I've left out hundreds, probably more like thousands, of worthy interpretations so forgive me. But now, when you see photo shopped versions of The Last Supper (and believe me, there are hundreds more to come), you'll know that the aforementioned artists did it first.

UPDATE: See Televisions casts posing as the Last Supper, From LOST to MASH here.

Collaboration of 2 Dutch Designers Yields 2D Furniture

The 2D furniture collection by Wouter Nieuwendijk and Suzanne van Oirschot is a fun collaboration between these two designers from the Netherlands.

The collection was designed for an exhibit in Das Wella Warenhaus at the Keizersgracht 300 in Amsterdam, but it is worth printing here for you to see if you haven't already. Photographic images printed upon white laminated particle board furniture make a statement about storage and items that is in direct conflict with the minimalist look of much of today's modern furniture.






Unfortunately, the pieces are not available for purchase (at least not in the US). But hey, head on over to Ikea, buy some pieces and put your own photos on them!

Want A Timeline Of Your Interests, Blog Posts, You Tube Videos & More? Then Dipity Do!

With a profile and a group on facebook, a blog on blogger, a twitter account, a Digg account, public Picasa web albums, my cyber life is very public. Granted, this is not my personal life but all related to the blog which you are presently reading.

As if there aren't already enough ways to be privy to what people are doing online, here's yet another, and it's very cool.



Dipity allows you to create and share interactive time lines of posts, your blog, events and more. You can even create a "time tube", a time line of your favorite you tube videos. With several ways to view the time line (as a visual time line, a flip book, as a list or a google powered map) and options to embed or share, there are endless possibilities.



Below are three ways to view time lines of If It's Hip, It's Here. Each format includes all my blog posts, photos from my public Picasa web photo albums, posted videos from my you tube account, my tweets, my Diggs and my Pandora music choices:

Timeline :


The timeline offers you the option to view it in several formats from the past 100 years to the past day!

Flipbook:



List:




What feeds can be added to Dipity?



Profile feeds such as RSS feeds, twitter, yelp, pandora, last fm, you tube as well as blog feeds from blogger and wordpress allow you to create rich and engaging time lines of all your interests.



Dipity began in April of 2007 when three long time friends realized they'd all been imagining the same product. They quit their day jobs and in April of 2007 formed Underlying Inc. and started making Dipity.

Dipity launched in march of this year and is made of up Benjamin Garrett, BJ Heinley, BK Gupta, Derek Dukes, Devin Curry, Eric Douglas, Madelaine Puster, Ryan Romanchuk and Zack Steinkamp

So you're thinking, I don't want to make a time line of my stuff, it's not all that interesting. Well, then go browse the time lines on there...there are over 20,000 and you can search by category or interest. You can view the most recent, the hottest or the most popular. You can embed and share or make your own timeline public or private.

Big 50 Cent fan? check out a timeline all about him:



Prefer The Beatles?


What are you waiting for? Make one of your own or check them out.
Dipity Do!

Or See The if It's Hip, It's Here timeline.

A Bevvy of Buckets: Modern Champagne Coolers & Ice Buckets

 


With so much buzz about the Globalight, Karim Rashid and Veuve Clicquot's collaboration that produced a glowing pink champagne holder that doubles as a cooling tote and keeps bottles at the ideal temperature for up to two hours, I thought I might share some lovely modern champagne bucket alternatives from Veuve Clicquot as well as from two other companies.


Above: Only 500 Globalights have been created worldwide. In the United States, they are available for purchase here and cost $4,500.

Don't want to spend $4,500 on a champagne bucket? Here are some much less expensive alternatives from Veuve Clicquot:


Buy the above buckets here.

And for other fabulous options, here are two other companies.

On the pricey side, l'Orfèvrerie d'Anjou, a French company, is a world leader of shiny pewter in the luxury industry. They are goldsmiths who have literally been plying their trade for almost three centuries and they are a respected company, whose products start at around $350.00. Here are a few of their more unsual and modern buckets:

Buy them all here.

Another company who makes pretty modern champagne buckets for a lower price than the aforementioned, with some designed by Karim Rashid for the Kohinoor collection, is Magpie of India:



Buy Magpie's buckets here.

You can also find the Magpie buckets along with other modern champagne buckets by Blomus and Alessi at Unica Home.

Cheers!

Brionvega's Alpha TV takes Its Cues From Gray, Corbusier & van der Rohe

You probably don't think of televisions as having timeless design or believe that they would ever become modern classics. But Brionvega's Alpha TV could change that. With design cues clearly inspired by several classic pieces of modern furniture from the late 1920s, the latest generation tv from Brionvega, the Alpha, may end with a permanent place in design books.



Above right : Eileen Gray's Bibendium Chair, 1925

The Alpha is an LCD TV set with built-in DVD player, characterized by design remniscient of the immortal furniture masterpieces by Le Corbusier, Marcel Breuer, Mies van der Rohe and Eileen Gray.



Above: Mies van der Rohe - Cantilever Armchair (1927)

Brionvega's Alpha is composed of two slender elements joined by a frame of chrome tubing within which the special wirings are pulsing. A choice which is in direct contrast to most LCD tvs and which focuses on a new layout with the capability of containing the space required by electronics and DVD player.



Above: Le Corbusier's Grand Confort Armchair, 1929

Even the remote control has been designed to impress with materials often associated with well-made furniture. In lieu of plastic, the material used is die-cast aluminum, not metallized plastic.



With a 19" screen, it has a display with 1280 x 1024 resolution, 160-degree viewing angles and a contrast ratio of 1200:1. This futuristic piece also comes with a DVD-player built into its unconventional base, a refreshing change from the usual supporting pedestal.


Above right: Eileen Gray's Adjustable Table E 1027, 1927


Above: Brionvega designer Valerio Cometti

Unfortunately, the set does not include a digital tuner and is not yet HD-ready.

Prices run €1950,00 for the 19" without DVD player and €2150,00 for the 19" with dvd player. You can pre-order them now.
Brionvega

If you'd like to know where you can buy the wonderful classic modern furniture by Eileen Gray, Meis van der Rohe, Corbusier and more shown here, check out the stores listed under classic modern furniture in my side bar or try DWR, by clicking on their logo below.



Shop for TVs and videos here

Honoring Mom With A Beaver, A Bird & A Bee (and a downloadable card!)

In celebration of Mother's Day, Zune Arts, the program that aims to bring the best creative minds together to collaborate on inspiring works of art, has released a new video "Mother Like No Other." The new work is a short film created by French animator, Yves Geleyn, set to the delicate music of The Bird And The Bee's track "Come As You Were". Available now at Zune-Arts.net, the film "Mother Like No Other" also comes with a unique downloadable Mother's Day card that fans can print out to give to their moms for Mother's Day.



This heart-warming tale follows a young beaver and his cardinal friend on a collaborative journey to create a beautiful bouquet for the beaver's mother. With a twist ending, this unique 2D animation film demonstrates just how far some will go to show appreciation for mom. Fans can see a previously released behind-the-scenes video that follows animator Yves through his New York studio during film production here.

Zune Arts recently announced the availability of Zune Arts content through a new podcast series, which showcases a broad selection of today's cutting edge cultural artists expressing themselves through film, music, design and illustration. In addition to showing these works, the podcast series will feature artist interviews, exclusive content, behind-the-scenes videos and more.

For more information about Zune Arts podcast subscription, visit here
For more on Yves Geleyn and Hornet Inc., visit here
For more on The Bird and the Bee, visit the Zune Social here