The International Journal Of Humanities & Social Studies ( ISSN 2321 - 9203) www.theijhss.com 147 Vol 3 Issue 3 Mar ch, 2015 THE INTERNATIONAL JOURNAL OF HUMANITIES & SOCIAL STUDIES The Gestures of Judas Iscariot in “The Last Supper” Icons from 15th – 18th Century’s іn Ukrainian Art 1. Introduction Gestures were an important instrument of nonverbal communication in the canonical iconography. The presence of gestures in icons was not accidental and had a profound symbolic meaning. As the face, hands and feet of the saints express the divine presence in figures depicted in the icon, as gesture in icon express emotions of the characters. Particularly, it was used to represent semantic bounds among the image characters. The origins of gestures in iconography lay in the early Christian sacred art. In the background of Christian iconography is an ancient culture. Early Christian art borrowed some gestures from ancient oratorical tradition: Greek and Roman orators accompanied their speeches with a special set of gestures. Marcus Fabius Quintilianus in the "Institutio Oratoria" describes the set of gestures of hand and fingers, which then were partially used in the Christian iconography. These basic principles of nonverbal rhetoric and gestures of hand and fingers are reflected in Christian iconography, for example – in the iconography of the Savior, the images of saints and martyrs, in the "The Annunciation" and so on. The meaning of gesture had special importance in the Medieval period in Europe. This made a special context for the interpretation of gestures, particularly in the iconography of "The Last Supper" story. According to monastic statutes, in the monasteries of the Western Europe in the Middle Ages, the Holy Bible was reading during the meal. None of the participants could talk or make noise so as not to disturb others hearing a lecturer. Most monastic laws relied on the doctrine of St. Benedict – Catholic father of monasticism. He said, that everyone should keep most silent in the dining hall, no voice, nor even a whisper should be heard. If necessary, everyone at the dining table should communicate by signs, not words. Medieval monastic manuscripts Signa Loquendi certify that the monks had developed a whole system of gestures to communicate at the table in meal time. Judas Iscariot’s gestures are very important for the study of its image in Ukrainian 15 th – 18 th century sacral art. Gesturing additionally, reflect emotions and psychology of the image. In the figure of Judas Iscariot hand gestures, facial expressions and body posture are distinctive. In this paper I will try to determine the most characteristic gestures of Judas Iscariot’s image in Ukrainian 15 th – 18 th century sacral art. 2. Judas Reaches to the Bowl on the Table One of the most characteristic Iscariot’s gestures in the eastern iconography of the Last Supper. It is associated with the description of the Last Supper in Gospels. It tells about a moment when by dipping a piece of bread into a bowl and passing it to Judas, Jesus showed that a traitor is among the apostles. Then Judas dipped the piece of bread into a bowl on the table with his hand and ate it. This Judas’s gesture of reaching hand into a bowl became canonical in the Byzantine for “the Last Supper” iconography. On the numerous art scenes of “the Last Supper” in Eastern and Southern Europe the figure of Judas is clearly distinguished due to his gesture of reaching the vessel on the table. Often Judas strongly leans over the table reaching the vessel, which is in front of Jesus. This gesture of Judas is Andriy Lesiv Young Research Fellow, Department of Art Criticism, Ethnology Institute of NAS, Ukraine Abstract: In this article review of the most common gestures of Judas Iscariot in “The Last Supper” icons іn Ukrainian art is presented. The period 15th – 18th centuries is considered. The main author’s conclusions are as follows. The gesture in the iconography of Judas Iscariot promotes expression of the main content and substance the idea of the composition. Some of the Judas’ gestures based on the narratives of Scripture, other gestures have symbolic value and are not described in the Gospels. Quite common gestures of Judas in the iconography of "the Last Supper" are pointing gestures. A common symbol that often accompanies the image of Judas in the iconography of the "Last Supper" is a knife – as a symbol of Judas betrayal of Jesus. Gestures of Judas also closely related to his main attribute – pouch of coins. It can be attached to a Judas belt, or Judas holds a pouch in his hand. Keywords: Gesture, Judas, Iscariot, the last supper, icon, Ukrainian art, knife