From Sasha (sa sha AT sc arl etre d.nl)

Re: “Last Supper” got ever bigger in paint: study (March 24): To base one’s evidence largely on a collection of paintings isn’t really evidence. One could argue that people only wore red and yellow colored robes based on those two painting; problem is that painters before the 16th century only had 3 tot 4 main colors to paint with. Or, that everyone walked around with halo’s in that time. Secondly, before the renaissance, painters didn’t understand proportion, this is the fruit of the renaissance. As you can see in most paintings from before the renaissance, the proportion of evertyhing is skewed, large heads and small bodies, etc. Thirdly, the food depicted in religious paintings is largey symbolic and also for decoration. It often is no way near an actual representation. I am a painter myself, and studied the history of painting. Biologically speaking, every organism tends to eat what it finds, thereby increasing food portions, which makes much more sense to me. Increase the overal well being and you will find that people tend to eat more, simply because there is more.