Dutch artist’s 17th-century work said to have inspired tableau that has offended Christian and conservative critics
A controversial tableau in the Olympics opening ceremony denounced by Christian and conservative critics as an offensive parody of The Last Supper was in fact inspired by a 17th-century Dutch painting of the Greek Olympian gods, art historians have said., inviting people to “come and admire” The Feast of the Gods, painted by the artist Jan van Bijlert between 1635 and 1640.
“So there is no question in this tableau of an insult to Christians,” the historian said. “We’re talking about the Olympic gods in a representation of van Bijlert’s work. The Greek gods came together on Olympus – where the ancient Games took place.” That may go some way to explaining the confusion. “In the context of the Reformation … the artist found a strategy for painting a Christ-related Last Supper under cover of a mythological subject matter,”
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