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PSA: Olympia opening did not just show the Last Supper
a year ago
It's one of these times when things are being gotten so wrong that it hurts...
Have seen several articles about how the opening ceremony of Olympia in France is mocking Christianity by showing the Last Supper.
Of course that lead to the usual right vs left clash but the left naturally answers with it being art and religion has to take criticism and parodies and whatnot.
That is true of course, but all this misses the fact that this was not primarily a parody of the Last Supper!
Sure there are similarities, but it's doubtful that it's even the primary inspiration. Thomas Jolly, the artistic director of the ceremony, said the scene had not been inspired by "The Last Supper" and depicted a pagan feast linked to the gods of Olympus.
SOURCE: https://www.dailymail.co.uk/news/ar.....-dionysus.html
Exact quotes:
But referring to the painting, Jolly insisted: “It [the Last Supper] is not my inspiration.”
He continued: “There is Dionysus (Philippe Katerine painted in blue) who arrives on this table. He is there because he is the God of celebration in Greek mythology. The god of wine, which is one of the jewels of France.
“He is also the father of the goddess Sequana, who is connected to the river, the Seine.
“The idea was to have a pagan celebration connected to the gods of Olympus.
SOURCE: https://www.outsports.com/2024/7/28.....gbtq-backlash/
If you search images for "feast of gods" or "feast of dionysus" (which is a specific painting that has inspired many other paintings) you'll see a lot of similarities...
So that's what art does, it combines elements and takes their abstracts to make an impression. And boy was that ceremony as a whole impressive!
EDIT: Look at this image, the sun-like crown Dionysus has here is WAY more similar to the one in the opening ceremony than Jesus' halo:
https://www.greekmythology.com/Othe...../dionysus.html
Have seen several articles about how the opening ceremony of Olympia in France is mocking Christianity by showing the Last Supper.
Of course that lead to the usual right vs left clash but the left naturally answers with it being art and religion has to take criticism and parodies and whatnot.
That is true of course, but all this misses the fact that this was not primarily a parody of the Last Supper!
Sure there are similarities, but it's doubtful that it's even the primary inspiration. Thomas Jolly, the artistic director of the ceremony, said the scene had not been inspired by "The Last Supper" and depicted a pagan feast linked to the gods of Olympus.
SOURCE: https://www.dailymail.co.uk/news/ar.....-dionysus.html
Exact quotes:
But referring to the painting, Jolly insisted: “It [the Last Supper] is not my inspiration.”
He continued: “There is Dionysus (Philippe Katerine painted in blue) who arrives on this table. He is there because he is the God of celebration in Greek mythology. The god of wine, which is one of the jewels of France.
“He is also the father of the goddess Sequana, who is connected to the river, the Seine.
“The idea was to have a pagan celebration connected to the gods of Olympus.
SOURCE: https://www.outsports.com/2024/7/28.....gbtq-backlash/
If you search images for "feast of gods" or "feast of dionysus" (which is a specific painting that has inspired many other paintings) you'll see a lot of similarities...
So that's what art does, it combines elements and takes their abstracts to make an impression. And boy was that ceremony as a whole impressive!
EDIT: Look at this image, the sun-like crown Dionysus has here is WAY more similar to the one in the opening ceremony than Jesus' halo:
https://www.greekmythology.com/Othe...../dionysus.html
(I imagine Jesus is facepalming at the behavior of his “followers.”)