The nineteenth century reproduction Da Vinci’s The Last Supper plays a very big role in Judy Chicago’s feminist installation work. Chicago’s installation is a feminist interpretation of one of the world’s most recognizable paintings. Chicago’s installation brings to light women’s domestic roles and their place in history; the absence of women in art history despite their creative contributions; and how fine arts sacralization has made it difficult for women to be a part of history and fine art. She used the historical event of The Last Supper and Da Vinci’s fine art representation of it to create a new vision of womanhood.
Chicago’s feminist reinterpretation of The Last Supper, was aimed at being a woman’s point of view of an all-male event. Women’s roles typically are associated with cooking, domestic rituals and sociability. Setting the table and preparing the food, not sitting at it. This piece was not meant to be passive, dangerous or shameful. It was a celebration of women. It reframed the female body as a positive object. Each place setting and piece on the table is symbolic. Decorations are made with porcelain, embroidery, and decorative painting, which all are symbolic of women’s work. Each place setting has a vaginal design, or plates with central motifs based on butterflies and vulvar forms. Women should have a place in history and their place has changed over time. Chicago represented this in her installation by having the 39 place settings start flat and begin to emerge in higher relief toward the end of the chronology, she did this to represent modern women’s gradual independence and equality.
There was a clear absence of women in art history, despite their creative contributions. You can see this in the reproduction of Da Vinci’s The Last Supper. The only people involved in this historical event were men. Only men sit at the table. Typically the women are preparing the food and serving it to them. Women did not have that “powerful” or “heroic” role or title. Chicago chose the women who were the “guests of honor” at The Dinner Party carefully. She chose women who have made a difference in history despite their creative contributions. She chose women who played significant roles throughout Western civilization. These are women like Sacajawea, Sojourner truth, Eleanor of Aquitaine, Empress Theodora of Byzantium, Virginia Woolf, Susan B. Anthony, and Georgia O’keefe. Chicago wanted to show that these women are a part of art history. The table rests on a floor made of triangular tiles, each engraved with one of 999 women who have also made a mark on history. By incorporating elements of a banquet, Chicago advances her guests to the role of heroes. It should not be just a male role. There should not be only men sitting at the table at a world famous historical event. Chicago wanted to celebrate the forgotten achievements in female history.
Chicago created this installation with the goal to “end the ongoing cycle of omission in which women were written out of the historical record.” This piece was done in opposition to the male-dominated art world of the 1960’s. Often women in art history are more associated with arts such as textile arts, porcelain artworks, ceramics, and other art forms that are considered to have been created by women. These art forms have been written out of history because they were considered craft, as opposed to fine art. The reproduction of The Last Supper, represents the final meal Jesus and his Apostles shared before he was crucified. The only people involved in this event and Da Vinci’s world famous painting are men. Thirteen of them. Chicago used this number in her installation and considered it a very significant comparison for her work. She chose to use an equilateral triangle as the shape of the table, to symbolize equality. Each side of the table had thirteen place settings. Each setting for a historically and mythically significant woman.
These two works of art have significant representations in them, with specific numbers, intentional medium choices, and a lot of symbolism. Chicago created a very famous reproduction of Da Vinci’s The Last Supper that celebrates women and creates a new vision for womenhood. She set strict goals with this installation, and she achieved them.