A scene in the Paris 2024 Olympics opening ceremony stirred controversy after many thought it was a reference to Leonardo da Vinci’s The Last Supper (1495–98) and a mockery of Christianity. However, art historians and the ceremony’s creative team quickly clarified that the real painting that inspired the performance, titled “Festivity,” is Jan van Bijlert’s The Feast of the Gods (1635–40).
After the opening ceremonies on July 26th, viewers quickly noted similarities between the performance and the well-known depiction of Jesus’s final meal with his apostles in Leonardo’s The Last Supper. However, the Magnin Museum in Dijon, France, which owns The Feast of the Gods, hinted at the true inspiration behind the Olympic ceremony scene on X. The institution posted, “Does this painting remind you of something?” and featured images of the 17th-century Dutch Baroque painting. Meanwhile, on BFM TV, opening ceremonies creative director Thomas Jolly confirmed the performance was intended to evoke the god of wine, Dionysus, and a grand pagan celebration.
On July 28th, art historian Walther Schoonenberg supported this clarification on X: “The tableau vivant or ‘living painting’ in the opening ceremony of Paris 2024 was of The Feast of the Gods, by Jan van Bijlert from 1635,” Schoonenberg wrote.
Commissioned by the Duke of Milan, Ludovico Sforza in 1495, Leonardo’s The Last Supper depicts the moment Jesus announces his betrayal by one of the apostles. It features the 12 apostles seated along one side of the table as a contemplative Jesus holds his hands out in the center. Similarly, van Bijlert’s The Feast of the Gods captures a large group of deities gathered around a table, including a central figure reminiscent of an angel with a halo, creating a visual parallel to The Last Supper. While The Last Supper focuses on a biblical narrative, created as part of a renovation project for Milan’s Convent of Santa Maria delle Grazie, The Feast of the Gods depicts Greek gods in a moment of revelry.
Van Bijlert was a prominent member of the Utrecht Caravaggisti, a Dutch movement inspired by Michelangelo Merisi da Caravaggio. He created The Feast of the Gods to celebrate Greek mythology through a lively banquet scene filled with gods and goddesses at the wedding of Thetis and Peleus. In the foreground, a seemingly drunk Dionysis stares at grapes as a satyr dances in front of him. The Dutch painter employed the chiaroscuro technique to enhance the festive atmosphere and the physical standings of the deities. Emblematic of the Dutch Golden Age, The Feast of the Gods reflects the era’s appreciation of antiquity. By featuring a performance inspired by communal celebration in The Feast of the Gods, the Olympic Organizers emphasized the ongoing cultural importance of communal traditions, such as the Olympic Games.
