Rowling’s Q&A last Sunday in The Times of London was largely forgettable, as I discussed in ‘Rowling’s Q&A in the Sunday Times.’ Her answer to an outlier question about art in that set, however, was a ‘keeper’ on several levels:
What’s the first piece of art you loved?
I visited the National Gallery on my own when I was around 19 or 20 and was absolutely mesmerised by Caravaggio’s Supper at Emmaus. I had a battered print of it on my wall for years afterwards and it featured on my first ever website.
This was not a revelation. In what remains “the only authorized J. K. Rowling biography,” Lindsey Fraser’s 2001 Conversations with J. K. Rowling, much more of a seemingly superficial Q&A than a proper critical life history, Rowling concluded her answer to “Do you enjoy art?” this way:
Perhaps my favorite painting is Caravaggio’s Supper at Emmaus when Jesus reveals himself to the disciples having risen from the dead. I love it. Jesus looks very likeable – soft and rounded – and the painting captures the exact moment when the disciples realize who this man is, blessing their bread. (Fraser, 30-31)
The chapter in Beatrice Groves’ Literary Allusion in Harry Potter that convinced me of that work’s seminal importance and the writer’s true brilliance turned on her discussion of this comment and on the painting itself. Join me after the jump for a review of Prof Groves’ exegesis, the confirmation of her points in Literary Allusion to be found in Rowling’s comments on Sunday, and some further points about Supper at Emmaus that the “mesmerized” Rowling may be assumed to have noticed. My idea is that her use of subliminal symbols ‘tracks’ with Carravagio’s and that we are called to a Ruskin-esque posture of “deep mining” before a painting if we are to grasp the depth of her writing.
I wrote to Professor Groves earlier this week to ask her permission to quote the passage in her Literary Allusion in Harry Potter about the Caravaggio painting, Rowling’s relationship with it, and what it reveals about the remarkable Christian Everyman subtext of Harry Potter. She graciously gave me her permission so here is that remarkable passage, a key really to the Christian content of the Hogwarts Saga:
To read the rest of this article, go to the HogwartsProfessor Substack site where it was posted five days ago. The Link is embedded in the title below. Enjoy!
Rowling’s Favorite Painting and What It Suggests about Her Artistry and Meaning
Caravaggio’s ‘Supper at Emmaus’
Great piece! I never thought about how an author’s favourite painting might reflect their creative voice, learning Rowling loved a work about recognition and revelation adds a new layer to her themes.