Page:Calcutta, Past and Present.djvu/206

 The three principal figures in the picture, the Saviour, St John, and Judas Iscariot, were portraits. The original of the first is said to have been a Greek priest, Father Parthenio, who was well known in Calcutta for his piety and good works. St John was represented by Mr. Blaquiere, who was for years a magistrate of Calcutta; and in Judas Iscariot was pilloried an old resident of the town, Tulloh, the auctioneer. The remaining figures appear to have been less exact portraits, and the names of others who appeared in the canvas have not come down to the present day.

There can be little doubt that Calcutta society was considerably scandalized by the painter's curious humour, but he seems to have been very well satisfied with his efforts, for ten years later he repeated the performance in England. Again he painted a picture of the Last Supper, again he took his friends and neighbours for his models, and again presented the work to a church for an altar-piece. He was then living at Strand-on-the-Green, near Kew and Brentford, and it is said that he painted the picture for the parish church of the former place, but, as the authorities refused to pay as high a price as he demanded, he declined to let them have it, and made a gift of the painting to Brentford, where it may still be