Vår bild av förrädaren. Om gestaltningen av Judas Iskariot i framställningar av Den sista måltiden

Abstract

Our Image of the Traitor. On the Depiction of Judas Iscariot in Representations of the Last Supper

Judas has become the very definition of a traitor. For centuries he has been used as a smear word. It has often been claimed that Judas is used as an anti-Semitic expression in art, and that he is depicted red-haired, ugly and beardless, wearing a yellow robe. The artistic material, however, shows otherwise. There is no clear reference to his Jewish identity, and the frequency of the commonly mentioned attributes is exaggerated. Furthermore, in depictions of Judas attending the Last Supper one does not even find strong expressions of blame. On the contrary, we can see a quite compassionate treatment of his person. Examples of a humble nature, regret and even asking the viewer for mercy can be found in the images. In the fifteenth century Judas is the clueless recipient of the bread who kneels before Jesus. By the seventeenth century he seeks out the gaze of the viewer as if pleading for mercy, or shows slight astonishment as if he cannot yet grasp the extent of his deed. The nineteenth-century Judas leaves the room, either by walking or downright running, and by the twentieth century he has become introvert and tries to hide or calmly walk away. Judas has in other words been treated by artists as a multi-layered character and not as a simple traitor. This article shows that our idea of Judas has departed from the artistic images we have created of him.