Art expert to critique 'DaVinci Code'

How much of "The DaVinci Code" by Dan Brown is true and how much is false?

Dr. Robert Randolf Coleman, associate professor of art history at the University of Notre Dame, will offer some answers during the annual Father Theodore Hesburgh Alumni Lecture at The College of Saint Rose in Albany, Nov. 7, 7:30 p.m.

He will talk about whether the author and others have misled readers through a reinvention of Leonardo DaVinci and his art, especially "The Last Supper."

Mixing fact, fiction

"The book is a mixture of fact and fiction," Dr. Coleman told The Evangelist. "I became skeptical when I first opened the book and read Dan Brown's statement about 'this' and 'that' particular thing being the truth. Much of what he calls 'truth' actually isn't.

"Professionals in the field of theology, art history and literature know this, but the general reading public doesn't. What this does is immediately put the reader at a disadvantage."

Dr. Coleman said that while other professionals can discuss the theological and literary aspects of the book, his knowledge of Renaissance art gives him a unique insight.

Is that Magdalene?

For instance, Mr. Brown suggests that Mary Magdalene was secretly included in "The Last Supper" as one of the 12 Apostles because of her relationship, even a romantic one, with Jesus. Dr. Coleman's knowledge of "The Last Supper" is in direct conflict with that implication.

"The Duke of Milan commissioned Leonardo DaVinci to paint 'The Last Supper' as part of the renovation of a monastic church, one that the Duke and his family planned to be buried in," Dr. Coleman explained.

"To think that DaVinci would actually paint a heretical mural on the wall of that monastic church is very unlikely, probably untrue, a joke, and disingenuous and misleading."

(Dr. Coleman teaches classes on Italian Renaissance Art, Italian Baroque Art and European Art of the 18th Century. Admission to his talk is free; call 454-5105 to register.)

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