Thread by @AukeHoekstra

Some are angry about the "anti-Christian depiction of the last supper" at the Olympic Opening ceremony. (@elonmusk and @realDonaldTrump among others)

A Dutch art historian explains it's not the last supper but a Dutch painting of the Olympic gods.
And I explain what I loved.
🧵

Original Dutch thread here. I just translated it.


@WSchoonenberg shows that the "tableau vivant" (living painting) is depicting "The Feast of the Gods" by Jan van Bijlert, from 1635.

The heathen Gods have gathered on mount Olympus for a feast. Sun god Apollo is recognizable by his halo, Bacchus (Dionysus) by the grapes, Neptune (Poseidon) by his trident, Diana (Artemis) by the moon, Venus (Aphrodite) by Cupid.

You can also see Minerva, the godess of wisdom, and of course Mars, the god of war (next to Venus, the godess of love who had a well known relationship).

There certainly is some resemblance with "The Last Supper' by da Vinci from 1495. Van Bijlert was apparently inspired by it to depict a heathen feast.

Jan Hermansz van Bijlert (Utrecht 1597/98-1671) was a Dutch painter who is considered one of the Utrecht Caravaggists, 17th-century artists who traveled to Italy as part of their training and came under the strong influence of the works of Caravaggio.

So this tableau vivant is in no way an insult to Christians. If anything one might claim that the pagan gods are insulted because the often somewhat effeminate Apollo is depicted as a plus-sized woman.

All in all, this depiction of Bijlerts piece of art seems fitting, since its about the gathering of the Greek gods on mount Olympus and this is where the Olympic games originate.

Here ends the translation. But I want to add a few tweets of my own.

First: I know, that some people in the Olympic organization seem to be confused themselves and have apologized for depicting the last supper. But I hope we can all agree that the art director wasn't confused and this is the obvious explanation of the tableau vivant.

But even if it was: this is the country where Voltaire (actually Evelyn Beatrice Hall, but let's leave that alone for now) famously stressed freedom of expression.

I would have been *disappointed* if they kept everything commercial, shallow and middle of the road.

I think the opening ceremony was beautiful, cultured, and a celebration of freedom. It was not a bland US Coca Cola commercial but something more artful and playful.

For me it's a reason to love the French even more.

And Marie Antoinette's revolutionary song (singing "the aristocrats we'll hang them") after being beheaded was not anti-Christian either.

It was simply a festival of color and sound with a nod to a famous moment in French history.

Finally, it's true that the Olympics didn't shy away from celebrating diversity in love and race. But if you think that's wrong, I think that's on you. France showed us they are free, cultured and secular, and I am here for it!

Many people saying the organization admitted it was the last supper. Well, they are wrong. Here is Thomas Jolly, the artistic director of the opening ceremony, explaining that the explanation in this thread was indeed correct.

Now people say: "that's what they claimed afterwards".

Nope. Here's what they said before.

So now we have:
- A statement before explaining it was about greek gods.
- An art critic explaining the same
- The art director explaining the same

Get over it!

Nope. They are not willing to let facts or intentions get in the way of politics and righteous indignation.

This is @FoxNews one hour ago. They must know by now they are spreading falsehoods, but the clickbait is just too good apparently.

I also like this detail: Apollo is not only recognizable because of the halo (being a sun god and all) but also because ancient Apollo has a lute while modern Apollo has a DJ installation.

(Why do 17 drag queens with a DJ installation along a catwalk equal a last supper?)

Ouch, now it's getting serious because lovers of Asterix and Obelix are wading into the fray. That's serious stuff in France!

They are deeply shocked at the Olympics blasphemous rendition of the last supper in the famous Gallic village.

If it reminded you of the last supper that is fine btw. The actor playing Apollo also saw the reference (left) before she corrected herself (right) and said "it was not sacriledge". And French TV could not withstand a wordplay either. But it wasn't meant as the last supper.

@DavidMavis11 @elonmusk @realDonaldTrump I mean, even you must have wondered what Dionysus was doing at the last supper and why that plus-sized woman had such a beautiful dress and a halo.

@machBmachBmach @elonmusk @realDonaldTrump @JulienHoez Here's the actual artist.

@DavidMavis11 @elonmusk @realDonaldTrump But I'm muting you, I'm sorry. I feel you can't be reasoned with and it irritates me.

I want to move on with my life, so I'm closing replies to this thread. I thank those who shared insights in an respectful manner.

I'm sorry if you truly felt offended, and I'm happy if you found it as interesting to learn about the tableau vivant as I did.