Insights to Art
Leonardo's Last Supper

Leonardo da Vinci, The Last Supper - Santa Maria delle Grazie, Milan

Leonardo da Vinci, The Last Supper (il Cenacolo), Santa Maria delle Grazie, Milan, painted 1495-99
Leonardo da Vinci, Last Supper (1495-99; 4.6m x 8.8m)

The Duke and the Painter
Leonardo da Vinci (b. 1452, d. 1519) began painting his Last Supper (L’ultima cena or il Cenacolo in Italian) in 1495. The work was commissioned by the Duke of Milan, Lodovico il Moro, for the refectory of the monastery adjoining the Church of Santa Maria delle Grazie - in fact the lunettes above Leonardo’s Last Supper contain ducal family crests. The Duke was engaged in an ambitious plan to enlarge and embellish the church and monastery - hiring top artists and architects of the time (Bramante worked on the dome and apse from 1492 on) - in order to turn it into a suitable tribute to the Sforza ducal family, a fitting final resting place for the Duke and Duchess (Beatrice d’Este) on their deaths. Ironically, by the time all the work was complete, a fabulous artistic treasure had been created for future generations but the Duke had been thrown out of Milan and the church never served as the “mausoleum” it was intended to be (the magnificent tombs of the Duke and Duchess are well worth seeing in the beautiful Certosa di Pavia 30 miles south of Milan).

The End Walls
The monk’s refectory was covered in frescos and two of the top artists of the time were engaged to decorate the end walls - Leonardo the wall behind the top table, Donato Montorfano the far wall. Both artists were working on their frescos in 1495 (Montorfano has signed and dated his Crucifixion, on the stone slab at the base of the cross), though Leonardo only seems to have finished the Last Supper in 1497-8. Nevertheless ideas had been running through Leonardo’s mind for a few years prior to painting the actual fresco as confirmed by many sketches he made from 1490 onwards.

The Life and Times of the Fresco
The refectory itself has had a chequered history, being used for various purposes including stables during the French occupation of Milan from 1499 (during this period a door was opened beneath Leonardo’s fresco, effectively cancelling any trace of Christ’s feet in the painting). In addition the refectory was badly bombed during the Second World War (August 1943), and although parts of the walls collapsed and the roof was completely destroyed, the end walls miraculously survived, in part due to sandbags and some primitive shoring up that had been done in case of just such an attack. Some photos at the visitors’ entrance to the refectory graphically show the extent of the damage to the building.

Techniques and Restoration
Despite the ravages suffered by the building, the damaged state of the fresco is principally due to other causes. Leonardo used an unusual technique for the Last Supper. Instead of the normal fresco technique of painting onto wet plaster, so that the colour is “sealed” in the plaster, Leonardo used tempera on dry plaster. The reasons for such a choice were clearly to allow more time for the artist to perfect his work - painting on wet plaster requires fast work. Many critics have said that Leonardo was at fault in using a technique that was destined not to last, but the true problem seems to have been the fact that the end wall for centuries suffered from extremely bad rising damp. Only a few years after it was complete, the paint began flaking. Just a few decades after completion it was already in a sorry state (in 1568 the art historian Vasari rather harshly stated that “it had been executed so badly that it was reduced to little more than a glaring smudge”) and some restoration attempts of the past did more damage than good. A twenty-year restoration project which only came to an end 1999 has halted any further deterioration, removed some additions of previous restorations, and revealed some wonderful details, but nothing has been added and what we see today is very obviously a badly damaged work. Despite its damaged state, however, the painting still reveals so much of artistic interest to make it one of the art wonders of the world.

Breaking with Convention
Leonardo’s Last Supper marks a total break with all traditional approaches to the theme used up until that time. Traditional iconography (conventional approaches to the theme) showed Christ and the apostles seated on all sides of a squarish table, with a dark figure of Judas in the front, almost in silhouette and with his back to viewers. Again breaking with convention, Leonardo shows us a scene in which Christ has just announced to his disciples that one of them would betray him: “Verily. I say unto you, that one of you shall betray me” - giving viewers a whole new perspective on the theme, where the meal itself becomes very secondary. Leonardo wants to examine the human aspect of Christ’s affirmation, in particular the reactions of the apostles, and not just provide a decorative painting of the disciples at the table.

Composition
Leonardo has placed his disciples along one side of a long table, so we can clearly see all the apostles. Such a composition could risk becoming a very “flat”, uninvolving tableau, but Leonardo has done everything possible to give us a living, three-dimensional scene. The extreme perspectives of the very bare room he has painted lead us into the picture. The brightly-lit right-hand wall (appearing to be lit by a real window to the left of the picture) adds to this effect, as does the strongly-lit country background behind Christ. The table is “artificially” tilted forward to draw us further into the picture, and although the apostles are lined up along one side of the table, they appear to form something of a semi-circle with Christ at the centre. This curving perspective is in part created by the side figures being seen side-on and being noticeably larger than the central figures (the heads of the side figures are a good 10% larger than Christ’s, for example). But Leonardo composed his fresco with geometrical precision not only for reasons of three-dimensionality. The disciples are grouped into four groups of threes, and the figure of Christ with outstretched arms creates a three-sided triangle - a clear reference to the Trinity.

The Human Element
Leonardo himself said that “a good artist has to paint two main things: man and his mind’s thoughts.” Leonardo’s time was the age of “humanism” when artists wanted to do more than just provide decorative additions to rooms and buildings, when they wanted to delve deeper into human values. And in many ways the Last Supper is an exquisite example of this new approach. Even the quickest of comparisons with Montorfano’s old-style carefully-drawn but static figures on the opposite wall reveals just how full of life Leonardo’s disciples are, and how new his approach was for the time. The disciples are all reacting - in different, but very human ways - to Christ’s announcement, and we can almost experience and sympathise with their various responses. At the same time, Leonardo has incorporated into these personality studies some traditional character traits of the apostles and - according to some critics - some typical character traits of people born under various signs of the zodiac. It is well worth looking at the figures one by one (from left to right) in what has been described as a “multiple dialogue” (comments in brackets refer to assumed associated star signs and some typical traits associated with people born under such signs):

  1. Bartholomew - leaning with both hands on the table, Bartholomew appears angrily perplexed (possibly corresponding to the Aries sign: high forehead, reactionary and frank).
  2. James (the Younger) - resting a hand on Andrew’s shoulder, but also stretching his other arm out towards Peter, James seems to be silenced by the announcement and at the same time seeking reassurance from the others (Taurus: strong neck, often seeking security).
  3. Andrew - lifting both hands up in disbelief, Andrew is almost warding off any suspicions that he may be the traitor (Gemini: a double gesture with both hands, seemingly shallow in character).
  4. Peter - typically hot-headedly, Peter stares in astonishment, ready to explain things to John, while his right hand - with an almost unintelligible twist of his arm - holds a knife ready to kill the traitor if he is named (Leo: note that Peter leans forward so much that he must be classed as Leo, not Cancer, arrogantly at the centre of attention, loyal and faithful).
  5. Judas - leaning dramatically forward and in the shade thereby respecting traditional compositional approaches, Judas appears to be worried that Christ may go on to reveal who is planning to betray him. He stretches out left his arm towards the bread while clutching the money bag in this right hand (Cancer: often appearing to be hostile, easily offended).
  6. John - demurely lowering his arms, John is depicted characteristically turning his head meekly towards Peter for reassurance (Virgo: the most feminine of zodiac signs, modesty and conscientiousness).
  7. Christ - having made his announcement, Christ is remarkably immobile. Pointing towards the wine and bread on the table, his outstretched arms are an indication of the sacrifice he would make; his upturned hands are of course raised to heaven.
  8. Thomas - with his traditional raised inquisitive finger, Thomas is doubting what he has heard: is it possible that Christ has said that one of the disciples will betray him? (Libra: always weighing up the situation, irresolute and in constant doubt).
  9. James (the Elder) - arms out wide, James wants to tell Christ that he has absolutely nothing to hide (Scorpio: intense feelings and sense of purpose, strong and secretive).
  10. Philip - leaning slightly forward, the large figure of Philip is shown with hands pointing towards his breast in a typical gesture of innocent puzzlement (Sagittarius: extravagantly open, impatient and unpredictable)
  11. Matthew - turning towards Thaddeus and Simon, Matthew is pointing back to Christ, desperately seeking an explanation from the other two apostles (Capricorn: loyal, persevering and resourceful).
  12. Thaddeus - with a raised palm, the bearded Thaddeus also indicates his astonishment (Aquarius: broadminded, detached)
  13. Simon - hands outstretched, Simon appears to be doing his best to offer some kind of explanation to the others (Pisces: sympathetic and compassionate)

Details
Leonardo’s fresco, unlike Montorfano’s on the opposite wall has none of the fussy details typical of early Renaissance painting (compare the bare countryside scene in Leonardo’s fresco with the improbably-perched hilltop towns and a very unlikely-looking Jerusalem in Montorfano’s Crucifixion). Nevertheless, it is well worth considering some of the detailed features in Leonardo’s work. The simple meal on the table is thought to be similar to what the monks would also eat in the refectory, Leonardo’s way of bringing the picture closer to the lives of the monks. The embroidered tablecloth also displays a contemporary style. The detailed expressions on many of the apostles faces have really only come to light since the recent restoration, as has the light blue fabric of Philip’s cuffs which corresponds precisely with some Tuscan fabrics in use during the period when Leonardo painted his Last Supper.

Leonardo in Milan
Leonardo lived and worked in Milan for a number of years. He designed Milan’s canal system, frescoed some ceilings in the castle (Sala delle Assi, Castello Sforzesco), and lived in the Stelline palace just opposite the road from Santa Maria delle Grazie (his orchard at the back is now a modern sculpture-garden and can be visited). His painting A Portrait of a Musician is in the Ambrosiana Gallery (where some of his manuscripts are also kept, and a Portrait of Beatrice d’Este has sometimes been attributed to him). Leonardo’s equestrian statue (the world’s largest bronze horse statue) at the race course is a recent reworking of Leonardo’s original designs. A special gallery in the Science Museum (Museo Nazionale della Scienza) exhibits models of some of the machines and contraptions Leonardo designed. Copies of Leonardo’s Last Supper are to be found in the Science Museum, in the church of San Lorenzo and elsewhere (to see the original, be sure to book in advance on 02 89421146).



Copy of The Last Supper by Leonardo da Vinci
Copy of Leonardo da Vinci's Last Supper


© Nigel J. Ross, 2003


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