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THE LAST
LAST SUPPER:
SUPPER: THE
THE GREATEST
GREATEST MASTERPIECE
MASTERPIECE OF
OF THE
THE RENAISSANCE
RENAISSANCE

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The Last Supper:

The Greatest
Masterpiece of the
Renaissance
 2019-08-14 / 6 MINUTES READ Most Popular Posts

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Portrait of Da Vinci

Leonardo da Vinci was the illegitimate son of Piero Da

Vinci, a notary, and a peasant woman named Caterina,
and was born in Vinci, Florence. Ruled by the Medici
family, Florence was considered the cradle of the
Renaissance during Da Vinci’s lifetime. He was educated
in the Florentine studio of the painter Andrea del
Verrocchio in the mid 1460’s, where he received a
thorough theoretical training. By 1472, he had qualified as
a master in the Guild of Saint Luke, the guild of artists and
doctors, and although his father helped him set up his
own workshop, he continued to collaborate with
Verrocchio. Da Vinci’s earliest surviving work is a pen and
ink drawing of the Arno Valley from 1473. Soon after he
established his own workshop, he was commissioned to
paint an altarpiece for the Chapel of Saint Bernard in the
Palazzo Vecchio and another for the monks of San
Donato in Scopeto. However, Da Vinci completed neither
of these projects as he abandoned them to work for
Ludovico Sforza, the Duke of Milan from 1482 to 1499.
During this time he painted, the Virgin of the Rocks for
the Confraternity of the Immaculate Conception and The
Last Supper for the monastery of Santa Maria delle
Grazie.

Political Turmoil Interrupts Da Vinci’s

Career
Ludovico Sforza was overthrown at the beginning of the
Second Italian War and thus Leonardo, along with his
assistant Salai and his friend, the renowned
mathematician Luca Pacioli, fled to Venice. Here he
worked as a military architect and engineer, designing
defense plans to protect the city from naval attack. He
returned to Florence in 1500 and lived as a guest of the
monks of the Santissima Annunziata monastery, where he
painted The Virgin and Child with St Anne and St John
the Baptist, which according to the art historian Vasari,
was hugely popular.

Da Vinci then went on to work for Cesare Borgia, the son

of Pope Alexander VI, as a military architect, engineer and
cartographer until he returned to Florence and the Guild
of Saint Luke in 1503. It was at this time that he began to
work on his most famous painting, a portrait of Lisa del
Giocondo, now known as The Mona Lisa. It is speculated
that he worked on this until his final years.

In 1515, King Francis I of France captured Milan and the

following year Leonardo entered his service where he
drew up architectural plans for a castle town and other
inventions. Da Vinci died in France in 1519, in the house
given to him by Francis I.

What’s happening in The Last

Supper?

Leonardo Da Vinci, The Last Supper, 1495-1498

The Last Supper was commissioned by Ludovico Sforza,

Duke of Milan, for his renovations of the Convent of Santa
Maria delle Grazie in Milan. The Last Supper measures 460
x 880 cm and is located on the end wall of the dining
room in the Convent. The theme of The Last Supper from
the Gospel of John, 13:21, was traditional for dining halls,
however, Da Vinici’s treatment of the subject was
revolutionary. He chose to depict the moment Jesus
announced that one of his apostles would betray him.
Consequently, the painting is full of expressive reactions,
which combined with Da Vinci’s mastery of perspective,
creates a naturalistic composition which remains today
one of the most significant masterpieces in the history of
art.

The Symbolic Composition of The

Last Supper
The Last Supper depicts Jesus, surrounded by his 12
apostles at a table celebrating the Jewish holiday of
Passover and it is Da Vinci’s mastering of the composition
which contributes to the painting’s reputation. With Jesus
in the center, his turned right cheek is the vanishing point
for the perspective lines of the composition and his hands
trace the lines of the golden ratio at the midway point of
the composition. His gaze towards his left arm, leads the
viewer’s gaze towards a loaf of bread, referring to his
prediction that the apostle who would betray him would
reach for bread at the same time as him. To his right,
e: Judas can be seen reaching for a loaf of bread, distracted
 
by his surprise at Jesus’ knowledge of his plan.

All twelve apostles are sat on the same side of the table
as Jesus, facing out at the viewer and are organised into
groups of three, referring to the Holy Trinity. In the first
group Bartholomew, James and Andrew can be identified
looking surprised. In the second, Peter expresses anger,
John despair and Judas, who leans on the table in
shadow, is shocked. Then, to Jesus’ left, Thomas, James
the Greater and Philip look to Jesus in disbelief. The final
group consists of Matthew, Jude and Simon who turn to
one another, as if trying to comprehend the news.

The art historian, Giorgio Vasari, described the

composition in his book ‘Lives of the Artists’, stating:
“Leonardo imagined, and has succeeded in expressing,
the desire that has entered the minds of the apostles to
know who is betraying their Master…So in the face of each
one may be seen love, fear, indignation, or grief at not
being able to understand the meaning of Christ; and this
excites no less astonishment than the obstinate hatred
and treachery to be seen in Judas.”

Da Vinci’s Experimental Techniques

Rather than use the traditional buon technique for fresco
painting which used wet plaster, Leonardo chose to
experiment with a secco technique in order to take longer
and rework his complicated composition without
worrying about the plaster drying. The secco also allowed
him to incorporate his signature painting techniques into
his fresco, such as chiaroscuro and sfumato and the use of
linear perspective. Unfortunately, this technique is very
delicate and began deteriorating shortly after The Last
Supper’s completion in 1498. Despite multiple restoration
attempts, The Last Supper has not withstood the test of
time and it is unlikely that much of what we see today is
from the original, however it remains one of Leonardo Da
Vinci’s greatest works.

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2 COMMENTS

PINGBACK:
2019-08-14 AT 17:02

The Adoration of the Magi and Da Vinci's Unique Iconography

PINGBACK:
2019-08-19 AT 14:44

The Annunciation: Da Vinci’s Early Experimentation with Optics

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