The Last Supper

The Last Supper

Introduction

Ludovico Sforza commissioned The Last Supper painting, Duke of Milan sometime in the area of 1495 most believe, which was in the remaining years of Leonardo da Vinci's eighteen year employment under the Duke. It is believed and accepted that this painting approximately took four years for completion as Leonardo da Vinci was a well-known procrastinator and that it was believed he was trying to stretch out his employment under the generous Duke for a while longer. The original fresco actually measured fifteen by twenty nine feet and adorned a wall at The Convent of Santa Maria delle Grazie in Milan, Italy. While Leonardo da Vinci's version of this event was far from the original rendering it has proved over time to be the best. His painting is considered to be the greatest example of a single focal point painting, as all consideration is continually drawn to the center of the work which is Christ. Even those that do not possess great facts or data of art find themselves immediately drawn to that focal point. To add to that, da Vinci's edition is the first which depicts Jesus and his disciples as ordinary people sharing a typical event rather than deifying them, as well as being the first to portray any emotion on the faces of the followers which was anything but cheerful (Helium, 2012). Tintoretto later picked up his enhancement of the painting bringing in use of color and real-life experience with his painting.

Last Supper by Leonardo Da Vinci

Da Vinci’s last supper painting was made using experimental pigments directly on a dry plaster wall; therefore it has not stood the test of time. Even before it was completed there were issues with paint flaking and Leonardo had to fix these problems. In the painting we can see a meal on the table which was supposed to have been prepared a day before the Sabbath (according to scriptures) but the feast of Passover began at sunset , but looking out of the windows in the background it is evident that it is too early in the day. The painting shows Jesus and his disciples sitting but critics argue that according to the Passover tradition, people were to eat while reclining. On the table, there is leavened bread, fish, wine and some type of herb. There are twelve glasses on the table each containing red wine. According to JayDax computer information center (n.d.), there is no jug or pitcher from which they would have refilled from. On the table there is a small glass bottle assumed to have contained the wine. Leonardo positioned Jesus at the center of his disciples and created an argument notion to the viewer’s eye. In the painting, there is no differentiation between Jesus and his disciples apart from the central position and the fact that he is the only one who does not seem to be in an argument mode. In Leonardo’s enhanced painting, Judas holds