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Leonardo da Vinci (April 15, 1452 – May 2, 1519)

Posted by Michael Opie on September 11, 2011 in Artists
Last Supper

Leonardo da Vinci 's Last Supper

Notes for: “The Last Supper” by Leonardo da Vinci

  1. Jesus’ head is perfectly aligned with the vanishing point.
  2. Also, all diagonal lines converge on Jesus’ head.
  3. The apostles are arranged symmetrically around Jesus, 6 on each side.

This was the first time that the psychological state of each apostle was shown.

  1. The landscape can be seen through the window.
  2. You can’t tell by this image, but there is a double source of light; from the windows in the back and on the left side of the room.  It is radiant.
  3. You can see the Horizontal line at the top.

See Image A1 Below:

Last Supper Revealed

Image 1A: Last Supper Revealed

 

This is where Jesus tells his disciples “one of you shall betray me”

Jesus’ Apostles:

  1. Peter holds a knife, Later in the story, when the guards come for Jesus, Peter defends Jesus with that knife. Andrew raises his hands in shock, James cries out in surprise and opens his arms, Simon, Thaddeus, and Matthew talk heatedly, and Judas clutches his bag of gold. Judas’ other hand is reaching towards the plate, which is part of what Jesus says – that whoever dips his hand in his plate is the betrayer.

In an alternate version of this painting Leonardo sketched Judas on the opposite side of the table by himself.

See Image A2 Below:

Apostles Names
Image A2 The Apostles

Leonardo’s symbolism:

Leonardo also loved to add in his own subliminal signature. Jesus’ foreshorten (a technique to show a figure in 3D) hand is the same hand, as the hand in his painting “Virgin and the Rocks,” Thomas’ finger is pointed to the ceiling, which is the same finger as the angle Uriel is “Virgin and the Rocks.”

About Leonardo da Vinci:

Leonardo was known to work all day and night without food or a break. He would also, paint 1 or 2 brush strokes and calls it a day. He was a vegetarian, a lover of animals and would buy birds in cages just to set them free. He was a gentle man, very caring

More about “The Last Supper”

This painting is a fresco on the wall in Santa Maria delle Grazie, Milan Italy. It was commissioned by the Lord of Milan. It was also an experimental process for Leonardo; he used emulsified eggs and oil. Sadly, it did not work out for him. Frescos rapidly fade over time; this one deteriorated faster than usual. The experimental paint didn’t bond to the plaster and the building was being used as a stable. The wall began to develop mildew in WWII when sandbags were placed in front of it to protect it from destruction. There is not a single drop of paint on this painting that had ever touched Leonardo’s brush.

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