Most students know Mike Katalenich as a Latin teacher and theater director, but fewer know him for his artistic skills.
Starting in the summer of 2022, he has been putting those skills to use in his painting of the Last Supper, made in the eastern icon style.
“It is Christ seated with a chalice and a paten with the Eucharist in it, and then he has the twelve apostles around him, all with their respective looks,” Katalenich said. “The most notable thing is Judas on the right, the only apostle without a halo, and the only one turned away from Jesus.”
He was commissioned by a friend of his to paint it for the sum of $10,000, a fair cost given that it would end up taking over 150 total work hours.
He has been getting the bulk of the work done during the summer, and the painting has spent the past three years sitting in the corner of his classroom.
“I first learned about the painting on the first day of school my freshman year,” junior Regina Jordan said. “I immediately knew that it would turn out amazing, Mr. K is very careful in his work, and it requires a lot of planning to paint icons.”
The painting’s base is made of wood, traditional for icons as wood is the material of the cross. The first layer is acrylic white, representing the uncreated light of God, and the second layer is the first application of color, representing the first act of creation.
As of right now, the figures’ faces are all featureless and green.
“Traditionally, you would paint the skin green, and then you would paint a very thin red wash over, which represents Adam being formed from the clay and then having the breath of life breathed into him,” Katalenich said.
Senior Jackson Roberts was impressed by the painting, even in its current unfinished state.
“It inspired me to look deeper into the styles of iconography, as it’s not as present in modern day, and is still as beautiful,” Roberts said.
Katalenich plans to have the painting done next spring, hopefully in March of 2025.
“This work has the potential to exist for hundreds of years,” Katalenich said. “So, you want it to be perfect, you want to make sure you’re doing the absolute best you can because this is an object that will lead people to Christ by its very existence.”
