SIR I was interested to read the American artist George

Last updated: 11/28/2023

SIR I was interested to read the American artist George Condo s comments regarding The Supper at Emmaus by Caravaggio Review October 15 He reads in this painting that there is nothing out there besides us and finds the image is very subversive I encourage him to look again Caravaggio came from an extremely poor family and spent his life living among the poor His paintings come out of this and he brings Christ into our world living and preaching among the poor The saints also lived in this world This is a naturalistic everyday scene but there are many symbols in this image The man standing and looking on in doubt alludes to the acknowledgement that many people will not believe that Christ is the Son of God The man s shadow hangs on the wall behind Christ giving Christ a halo The outstretched arms of St James wearing a shell confirm the astonishment that Christ has risen and returned The grapes are a symbo of Christ s blood and the bread that He is blessing refers to the bread of life Many religious images had rotting fruit painted in them symbolising original sin but the presence of the pomegranate symbolises Christ s Resurrection The arms and food spilling out into our space require us to take part in this painting It is an extremely emotional image and very controversial but in my humble opinion one that brings Christ to us inviting us to join in Jo Noble Oxford The above letter was written to the editors at The Telegraph UK read the response that Jo Noble gives to another man s Interpretation of the Caravaggio painting The Supper at Emmaus above Can you expand on his interpretation Can you think of any other symbolism in the painting that is noteworthy Do you disagree with his interpretation If so why Look at the painting above very closely and analyze the painting for imagery or symbolism that points to something more than the obvious Caravaggio was notorious for embedding important