The Last Supper 1913

Mykhailo Boychuk made The Last Supper with what looks like tempera on panel, sometime in the early 20th century. The way he builds up the figures, they almost feel like mosaics, with flat planes of color meeting in these really sharp edges. You can see the artist finding his way, correcting and adjusting as he goes. There’s something almost geometrical in the way he’s composed this scene, a kind of balance between the soft curves of the figures and the halos, and these strong, architectural shapes in the table and benches. Look at the drapery, those parallel lines, and how he models the folds, it’s like he’s carving the paint. And the colors! They're muted, earthy, almost like frescoes, which makes sense since he was interested in Byzantine art. I am drawn to the sleeping figure, the face turned away from us, the weight of the moment. Thinking about Boychuk’s interest in reviving Ukrainian art traditions, I am reminded of artists like Diego Rivera who looked to the past to forge a new kind of monumental art. Art is always a conversation, isn't it?