Holy Art and the Fashion Mart
French fashion house Marithe and Francois Girbaud launched this poster in February last year (2005) as a version of Leonardo da Vinci’s work, but with an almost all-female cast. Women clad in the company’s latest fashion-wear pose around a table as Christ and his apostles. One man, with a bare torso and low riding jeans, representing John the Apostle gets close and comfortable with one of the women.In Milan, where Leonardo’s fresco is preserved and the influence of the Vatican is never far away, city authorities have banned it.
One of the women apostles is kissing the naked torso of a man, which just makes the imitation more offensive. As does the use of Christian symbols like the dove, the chalice and the position of the fingers of the female Christ.
The company says the image is not offensive but, as it refers to it in the advertisement, is a tribute to women. Inspired clearly and openly by Dan Brown’s The Da Vinci Code, the advertisement suggests that the figure of John in Da Vinci’s masterpiece is actually Mary Magdalen in disguise.
With all due respect to the sentiments of the Catholics, I loved the advertisement for the stunning allusion of The Last Supper.
