Is Mary Magdalene really in Leonardo da Vincis The Last Supper?
Art scholars insist that it is unlikely. The person sitting to Jesus’ right in The Last Supper is very feminine, without a doubt, but young men were often portrayed by Leonardo and other artists of the time in such a way. John was often believed to have been very young and beardless, so he, in particular, was often depicted rather androgynously. The moment captured in The Last Supper is immediately after Jesus had revealed that someone present would betray him. The Gospels say that Peter got the attention of the disciple whom Jesus loved (traditionally assumed to be John) so that he could ask Jesus, on behalf of Peter, who the guilty party was. In the painting, we see Peter saying something to the figure at Jesus’ right, presumably asking him to convey this question. There is no way to know for sure whether or not Leonardo da Vinci intended to paint the figure to Jesus’ right as a woman, but consider this: if the monks who commissioned the mural for one moment thought that Leonardo was
