The Washing of the Feet. Tintoretto

The painting depicts the moment when Jesus Christ washes the feet of the apostles before the Last Supper.

In this scene, Tintoretto wanted to show that Jesus Christ loved his followers and was humble towards them.

The work was commissioned for the Confraternity del Santísimo Sacramento in the church of San Marcuola in Venice.

This confraternity was a religious brotherhood that valued humility, the same humility that Jesus Christ demonstrated with his apostles.

Tintoretto adapted the scene to the place where the painting hung.

The painting hung on the right side of the church.

And since churchgoers saw it from the right, Tintoretto placed the main character, Jesus Christ, on the right of the painting instead of in the centre.

When churchgoers look from the right side of the painting, they can see that it is arranged in a diagonal line.

In the foreground, Jesus Christ washes the feet of the apostles Peter and John.

Next, other apostles sit at the table.

In the background appears a landscape with an arch and a canal of Venice.

In the distance, above Jesus Christ, we can see a room with the scene of the Last Supper.

The Last Supper was the last meeting of Jesus Christ with his 12 apostles before he was tried and sentenced to death.

Tintoretto also created a painting of the Last Supper for the same church

The Last Supper hangs on the wall opposite The Washing of the Feet.