In line with our own super-sizing of meals:

 

Paintings of the Biblical Last Supper over the past millennium show that the plate and food portions depicted have grown progressively larger, according to researchers.

The food portions depicted in paintings of the Last Supper have grown larger - in line with our own super-sizing of meals, say obesity experts. 

(Above: Hardly anything on the table! And they all look starvingly tired, no doubt. Can´t have been too much wine either from what we can see..)

A Cornell University team studied 52 of the most famous paintings of the Biblical scene over the millennium and scrutinised the size of the feast.They found the main courses, bread and plates put before Jesus and his disciples have progressively grown by up to two-thirds.

 

The main meals grew 69% and plate size 66% between the oldest (carried out in 1000AD) and most recent (1700s) paintings. Bread size grew by about 23%.

Now! That´s a bread size fit for a French Sunday dejuner of today!

The sharpest increases were seen in paintings completed after 1500 and up to 1900AD.

These included works by El Greco, Leonardo Da Vinci, Lucas Cranach the Elder and Rubens.

 Hmm. Interesting indeed!

I found out about this research study in an article published by the BCC.

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