"The Last Supper" Featured Fresco
Holy Trinity Episcopal Church
Glendale Springs, NC

    Featured Fresco - The Last Supper   This true fresco, which fills the wall behind the altar in Holy Trinity Episcopal Church in Glendale Springs, NC, was created in 1980 by Benjamin F. Long, whose home town was Statesville, NC. Holy Trinity Episcopal Church located at 248 JW Luke Road is open 24/7 and an audio recording, available to visitors, gives information about the church and the figures in the fresco. Information is also available on the parish website; phc.diocesewnc.org, and on the facebook site the parish of the holy communion the churches of the frescoes.

    True fresco painting, a special kind of mural, is one of the most challenging of all art forms. "Fresco" is Italian for "fresh". Wet plaster is applied to a wall and while still wet, colored mineral pigments are painted into the plaster. Because the pigments bond so quickly into wet plaster, great skill and meticulous plans are required. In this technique where the pigments actually penetrate into the plaster, light is reflected differently as compared to painting onto a hard surface, and a fresco image appears to be more three-dimensional.

    The Last Supper depicts a scene in first century Jerusalem. The figure haloed by the window is a Jewish Rabbi named Jesus. He and his followers are celebrating the Passover with a local family and eating the Seder meal, which make present again the events of the night when God freed the people of Israel from bondage in Egypt. Jesus uses this occasion to teach His friends about servanthood and selfless love. He introduces a sacrament by which we make him present again in our own lives.
    Fresco Artist: Benjamin F. Long IV

    Fresco Mention#1 - Moses on Mount Sinai  Over the main entrance doorway in the rear of the church is a fresco of Moses bringing the tablets of the law down from Mount Sinai by artist Charles Kapsner. He shows Moses in his anger at the Israelites who have rejected the God who brought them out of Egypt and have gone back to worshipping the man-made idols of their slave days.
    Fresco Artist: Charles Kapsner

    Fresco Mention#2 - Agony of Christ  In the vestibule is The Agony of Christ , a fresco by Sheila Batiste, a young woman who was among a group of art students working with Mr. Long during the painting of The last Supper. She has portrayed the agony of crucifixion in stark terms, and with black features. In her picture, the face of Christ is the universal face of human pain.
    Fresco Artist: Sheila Batiste

    Fresco Mention#3 - Departure of Christ  In the columbarium on the lower floor of the church is a fresco, The Departure of Christ was painted in 1984 by Jeffrey Mims. This fresco depicts Jesus leaving his mother, home, and relatives to begin his ministry. Mr. Mims was a student of Ben Long and was commissioned to paint this fresco as a memorial to a young girl in the congregation who died at the age of 10 after being struck by a truck near St. Mary's Church. Based on this fresco, Mr. Mims won the American Classical Award for Art.
    Fresco Artist: Jeffrey Mims