About "The Last Supper" as represented in art - Giotto, Warhol etc. The historical accuracy is investigated (Jewish and Roman customs; when various fruits first arrived in Italy, etc). The depictions reveal details of the artist's society - we're told about the history of tablecloths, of forks and how many prongs they had. The number/size of plates in a painting is an indication of the wealth of the artist's society. Symbolism changes too - Judas is sometimes dressed in yellow. According to popular belief, pomegranates have 613 seeds - the number of commandments in the Torah. St Augustine suggested that there were 153 fish in a biblical catch because there are 10 Laws, 7 "Spirito Santo" and if you add all the numbers from 1 to 17 (7+10) you get 153. Which fruit is only mentioned once in the bible? Melon. Bread is mentioned 317 times, wine 223 times and oil 183.
I'd forgotten that Leonardo's "The Last Supper" survived a WW2 bombing.
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