Chapter 788: Fishermen and Tax Collectors

In the painting of the Last Supper, Jesus is in the center, the seventh from the left or the right.

There are six people on his left and six people on his right.

The first on the left is Nathanael

The second from the left is little Jacob

The third from the left is Andre

Fourth from left is the traitor Judas

The fifth from the left is Simon Peter

The sixth from the left is John

The one on the right is Ximen of the Zealot Party

Second from right is St. Jude

The third from the right is Matthew

Fourth from right is Philip

The fifth from the right is Jacob the Great

Sixth from the right is Thomas

The plate of grilled eel was in front of Matthew.

According to Leviticus 11:9:12, fish with fins and scales is edible, while the eel, which has no scales and is shaped like a snake, is inedible.

The Last Supper was painted on the wall of the canteen of the Dominican Church of Our Lady of Grace in Milan. Dominican was appointed by the Pope to preside over the Inquisition, which brutally persecuted heretics. They used to control the theological forums of some universities in Europe. Apart from preaching, they mainly devoted themselves to higher education. They called themselves the watchdogs of the Lord and determined to travel all over Europe to stamp out heresy and ignorance.

Heresy refers to a school of thought that does not belong to orthodox thought, and the bones of the saint in St. Mark's Basilica were smuggled back under pork.

***Do not eat pork because it represents uncleanness, which is stipulated in the teachings of the Qur'an. But Christians do not implement their teachings so thoroughly, and Greek sects also use fish as a substitute for fasting, but Dominican, who tried heresy, and many monks who were determined to stamp out ignorance, did not notice that this dish does not conform to Doctrinal grilled eel would be interesting.

Are they really devout believers, or do they go to the church to make a living?

Da Vinci was 42 years old when he painted The Last Supper, but his life was very poor, which has something to do with his character.

When he was young, he was good at painting portraits, and he had received many orders, but he didn’t follow through on the painting. The dishonorable Da Vinci spread in the industry, and fewer people came to him to paint portraits. , his life is getting more and more embarrassing, coupled with his introverted personality, life is very difficult.

Inspiration doesn’t come all the time. When painting The Last Supper, Leonardo da Vinci sometimes painted for a whole day without eating or drinking water, and sometimes he didn’t paint for several days. Of course, a painter who relies on inspiration to paint is not as good as relying on painting skills The artist of the painting is stable. In order to fill his stomach, he could only accept a large-scale mural, which is the famous painting "The Last Supper". But Da Vinci did not enjoy any of the convenience brought by this painting at that time, but was still hungry and full, and the creation was delayed again and again, and he was often so embarrassed that he couldn't even buy the paint.

Not only that, but the dean of the monastery also treated him harshly. Leonardo Da Vinci, who was not good at speaking, painted him as Judas. The positions of Judas and St. Peter are misplaced. From the perspective of the body, Peter can be the fourth, Judas is fifth. Moreover, there is no Holy Grail in Da Vinci's "The Last Supper", which is a must for all painters who paint this subject. Heretics racked their brains to ridicule the church and used various similes and metaphors. No one has discovered it for so many years .

He alone enjoys the joy of swearing without dirty words, others can't understand, and monks don't know when they are scolded.

Grilled eel is delicious, but it is against the teachings, and this painting is still in the church canteen. Early Christians often used fish to refer to Jesus. At that time, in order to avoid the religious persecution of the Roman Empire, they used the Greek words "fish" and "ΙΧΘΥΣ" as communication codes.

Eels were popular in Renaissance Italy because they were easy to preserve and could be eaten for a long time even if they were dead and pickled.

In Leonardo da Vinci's time, grilled eel with orange slices was very popular in the homes of princes and nobles, and ordinary families could only taste such delicacies during the important Passover festival.

What belongs to God belongs to God, what belongs to Caesar belongs to Caesar, the church has seized too much property, and has become richer and richer with tax-free privileges, but the king has become poorer and poorer. Matthew was originally a tax collector in Capernaum. After seeing Jesus, he converted to Jesus, went to Persia and other places to preach, and was killed afterward.

"Mark's Gospel" and "Luke's Gospel" have mentioned the same thing about Jesus as a tax collector, but the tax collector's name is Levi.

In order to survive, Da Vinci, who was a heretic, had to paint this Last Supper for the Dominican Church who tried the heretics, because if he didn't paint it, his next supper would be lost.

The Gospel of Matthew says: Anyone who has will be given twice as much to make him superfluous, and whoever does not have will be taken away even what he has. The essence is that the strong will always be strong, the weak will always be weak, and the winner takes all.

The plate in front of Judas was already empty. He overturned the salt. Salt was an important income in Venice. At the same time, the wealthy merchants in Venice plundered the property of the already poor peasants through this necessities of life. His abbot was Ludovico Sforza, Grand Duke of Milan.

Business empires are always in the hands of individuals, but Francesco Sforza has grown from the illegitimate son of a mercenary to the Grand Duke of Milan. He should be a legend.

Which is more difficult, starting a business or being successful? Ludovico Sforza was not a Venetian libertine, although he had a good father and a few mistresses, but his head was clear.

At that time, Italy was in the midst of a chaotic war, and in troubled times, it needed to master force so as not to be annexed by others.

In Da Vinci's cover letter to him, it was written:

Your Excellency the Grand Duke:

Observing and reflecting on the experiments of those pretending to be inventors of ordnance, and finding that what they make is no different from what is commonly used, I have ventured to ask Your Excellency to reveal my secrets, but I have no prejudice against others.

1. I can build light, strong, and easy-to-carry bridges, which can be used to chase and defeat the enemy; I can also build strong bridges, which can withstand enemy fire and attack. This kind of bridge is very convenient to load and unload, and I can also burn and destroy the bridge of the enemy.

2. In the siege of a city, I can cut off the water from the trenches, and make floating bridges, ladders, and other similar devices.

3. If there is a stronghold which is too high or too strong to be bombarded with artillery fire, I can destroy every fortress in it, provided its foundations are not of stone.

4. I can also make a cannon, light and easy to carry, with which to hurl small stones, like hailstones, the smoke from which will dismay the enemy, and cause heavy losses and great confusion.

5. I can dig tunnels in any given place, whether straight or curved, without the slightest sound, and can dig under trenches and rivers if necessary.

6. I can make armored vehicles equipped with cannon, which can be used to break through the densest formations of the enemy's army, thereby opening a safe passage to the enemy's infantry.

7. If necessary, I can build cannons, mortars, and other light ordnance that are as beautiful as they are useful, and which are not of a common pattern.

8. When cannons cannot be used, I can substitute slingshots, trebuchets, traps, and other devices of remarkable effect, which are equally unconventional. In short, I can furnish innumerable instruments of offense and defense if necessary.

9. If I were to fight at sea, I could construct a variety of apparatuses which are most suitable for offense and defense, and ships of war capable of withstanding the heaviest artillery, and powders and arms of every kind.

10. In the Taiping era, I was able to build public buildings and civil houses, and I could also divert water sources. I am confident that my technology is by no means inferior to others, and I will be satisfied with you.

11. I am also good at sculpture in marble, brass or clay; in painting, I am not inferior to any painter today. In addition, I am also willing to undertake the task of sculpting the bronze horse, which will add immortal brilliance and eternal honor to your late father and famous family.

If anyone thinks that any of the above is beyond my reach, or that I am impractical, I am ready to try it out in your garden, or in any other place you may designate. With infinite humility, I greet Your Excellency.

Da Vinci did not rely on his own genius paintings, but only applied for his ability as an engineer. His letter won the favor of the Grand Duke of Milan, and he provided Da Vinci with a long-term job.

It was also the income from this job that kept Da Vinci from starving to death while painting the Last Supper.

Is there any conflict between the Church and the Duke of Milan? After all, the church occupies so much land and wealth, and taxation happens to be an important income for the Grand Duke of Milan. It is also a set of effective taxation policies established in Francesco that brought a lot of income to the Principality.

The twelve disciples of Jesus were mainly fishermen from Galilee, which is in the north of Israel. Only Judas was from the south, and the other one was Matthew, who was a tax collector.

Most of the disciples also didn't fully understand the message Jesus taught, but Matthew did, and he left his steady job to preach with them.

Of the thirteen people present at the time, twelve died tragically, and only John lived longer.

At that time, Jesus entrusted his own mother to the care of John. Later, when he ran to the tomb to see if the rumor of Jesus' resurrection was true, he ran faster than Peter.

Throughout the painting, John appears to be female, and she appears to be listening to St. Peter.

Sometimes a woman can't listen to the Lord because she has a knife around her neck, or someone has a purse in her hands and has to do something she doesn't want to do.

She had to learn to smile and please others, even when she was filled with disdain and fear.

"Linda!" In St. Mark's Square, Monica waved to them with a cup of coffee. Alessandro followed her wearily, and Gianluca was also there.

Last night his scheming failed because two meddling wizards had disapparated back to the main island, and only Alessandro had stayed overnight in the mansion on the water.

Monica was very happy, although the first time she Apparated she was so dizzy that she almost vomited as if she was drunk.

Pomona greeted the old bat with a gloomy face.

Today their journey is on land instead of sea. They are going back to the mainland from the Liberty Bridge. It would have been better to meet in the parking lot, but they still met in St. Mark's Square.

She also had to go to Flora Cafe to get a cup of coffee. After all, how could one go to Italy without drinking coffee, even though it was much more expensive than Starbucks.