Leonardo da Vinci | Ultima Cena / Last Supper, 1494-1498

Last Supper, one of the most famous artworks in the world, painted by Leonardo da Vinci probably between 1494 and 1498 for the Dominican monastery Santa Maria delle Grazie in Milan.

It depicts the dramatic scene described in several closely connected moments in the Gospels, including Matthew 26:21–28, in which Jesus declares that one of the Apostles will betray him and later institutes the Eucharist.

According to Leonardo’s belief that posture, gesture, and expression should manifest the “notions of the mind”, each one of the 12 disciples reacts in a manner that Leonardo considered fit for that man’s personality.

The result is a complex study of varied human emotion, rendered in a deceptively simple composition.

Leonardo da Vinci | Ultima Cena / Last Supper, 1494-1498 | Convent of Santa Maria delle Grazie, Milan

Subject

The subject of the Last Supper was a popular choice for the refectory walls of monasteries and convents in 15th-century Italy, whereby nuns and monks could have their meals in the presence of Jesus’ final repast.

Leonardo’s version appears neatly arranged, with Jesus at the centre of an extensive table and the Apostles to his left and right.

He wears the traditional red and blue robes and has a beard, but Leonardo did not imbue him with the customary halo.

Some scholars have proposed that the light from the window behind him serves this role or that the implied lines of the pediment above the window create the illusion of a halo.

Other scholars have argued that the missing attribute may also suggest that Jesus is still a human being, who, as such, will endure the pain and suffering of the Passion.

A study for The Last Supper from Leonardo's notebooks shows twelve apostles, nine of which are identified by names written above their heads. Judas sits on the opposite side of the table, as in earlier depictions of the scene.

The scene is not a frozen moment but rather a representation of successive moments.

Jesus has declared his forthcoming betrayal, and the Apostles react.

Philip, who stands in the group to Jesus’ left, gestures toward himself and seems to say, “Surely not I, Lord?” Jesus seems to reply, “The one who has dipped his hand into the bowl with me will betray me” (Matthew 26:23).

Simultaneously, Jesus and Judas, who sits with the group to Jesus’ right, reach toward the same dish on the table between them, an act that marks Judas as the betrayer.

Leonardo da Vinci | Ultima Cena, 1494-1498 | Jago | Convento di Santa Maria delle Grazie, Milano

Jesus also gestures toward a glass of wine and a piece of bread, suggesting the establishment of the Holy Communion rite.

Jesus’ serene composure, with his head and eyes lowered, contrasts with the agitation of the Apostles.

Their varying postures rise, fall, extend, and intertwine while remaining organized in groups of three.

James the Greater, to Christ’s left, throws his arms out angrily while the disbelieving Thomas, crouched behind James, points upward and seems to ask, “Is this God’s plan?”.

Leonardo da Vinci | The Last Supper, Judas and Saint Peter | Royal Academy of Arts

His gesture anticipates his later reunion with the resurrected Christ, a moment that was often represented in art with Thomas using his fingers to touch Christ’s wounds from the crucifixion to quell his doubts.

Peter, who is identified by the knife in his hand that he will later use to sever the ear of a soldier attempting to arrest Jesus, moves toward the mild-tempered John, who sits to Jesus’ right and appears to swoon.

Judas, gripping the purse that contains his reward for identifying Jesus, recoils from Peter, seemingly alarmed at the other Apostle’s quick action.The rest of the Apostles appear to whisper, grieve, and debate among themselves.

The meal takes place within an almost austere room so that the viewer focuses on the action taking place in the foreground.

Dark tapestries line the walls on either side, while the back wall is dominated by three windows that look out on an undulating landscape recalling Milan’s countryside.

Leonardo represented the space by using linear perspective, a technique rediscovered in the Renaissance that employs parallel lines that converge at a single vanishing point to create the illusion of depth on a flat surface.

He placed the vanishing point at Jesus’s right temple, thus drawing the viewer’s attention toward the main subject.

Although linear perspective seems like a systemized method of creating the illusion of space, it is complicated by its reliance on a single vantage point.

Any viewing position other than the vantage point reveals a slightly distorted painted space.

Later, scholars discovered that the vantage point for the Last Supper is about 15 feet (4.57 metres) above ground.

Leonardo likely chose this relatively high height because the painting’s bottom edge is 8 feet (2.44 metres) above ground and using a vantage from the floor would have meant viewers would only have been able to see the underside of the table, not the action taking place above.

Consequently, the painted space of the Last Supper always appears sightly at odds with the refectory space.

It is one of many visual paradoxes scholars have observed about the painting.

They have also noted that the table is far too large to fit in the depicted room, yet it is not large enough to seat the 13 men, at least not along the three sides where they are placed.

The scene, so seemingly simple and organized, is a puzzling resolution to the challenge of creating the illusion of three-dimensional space on a flat surface.

History

The wall painting was commissioned by Ludovico Sforza, the duke of Milan and Leonardo’s patron during his first extended stay in that city.

The Sforza coats of arms appear with the family’s initials on the three lunettes above the mural.

Leonardo likely began working on the painting in 1495 and, as was his manner, worked slowly with long pauses between sessions, until he finished in 1498.

Because of Leonardo’s notorious perfectionism, true fresco painting was not ideal, as the process requires that an artist apply paint quickly to each day’s fresh plaster before the plaster dries and bonds the pigment to the wall.

Instead, Leonardo tried an experimental technique using tempera or oil paint on two layers of dry preparatory ground.

His compromised process meant that the pigments were not permanently attached to the wall, however, and the painting began to flake within a few years.

It continued to deteriorate, suffering from the steam and smoke of the monastery’s kitchen, soot from the refectory’s candles, and the dampness of the location.

Leonardo da Vinci | Ultima Cena, 1494-1498 (particolare) | Convento di Santa Maria delle Grazie, Milano

In the ensuing centuries, the painting sustained additional damage.

In 1652 a door was cut into the north wall, removing Jesus’ feet and loosening the paint and plaster.

Several restorations followed, with heavy-handed retouches and the application of varnish, glue, solvents, and the like.

The painting endured additional irreverence when Napoleon’s invading troops used the refectory as a stable.

After a flood in the beginning of the 19th century, mold growth damaged the painting further still.

During World War II the painting suffered its greatest catastrophe, when an Allied bomb caused the roof and one wall of the refectory to collapse.

The painting survived, but it was exposed to the elements for several months before the space was rebuilt.

After centuries of maltreatment, the Last Supper underwent an extensive and controversial 20-year restoration that was completed in 1999.

Restorers worked in small sections to remove previous retouches, layers of grime, and coats of varnish while adding beige watercolour to the parts that could not be recovered.

When the restored painting was revealed, many critics argued that the restorers had removed so much of the painting that very little was left of Leonardo’s original work.

Others, however, commended the recovery of such details as the Apostles’ expressions and the food on the table.

Leonardo da Vinci | Ultima Cena, 1494-1498 (particolare) | Convento di Santa Maria delle Grazie, Milano

Legacy

The painting, despite restoration efforts, remains fragile, so, in an effort to slow its deterioration, visitors are allotted 15 minutes to view the mural in small groups.

Although some of Leonardo’s celebrated artistic qualities - luminous colour, soft modeling, and studied facial expressions-have been lost, viewers can still witness his skill in depicting a sequential narrative, his considered approach to creating an illusion of space, and his interest in representing human psychology in expression, gesture, and posture.

Since the Last Supper’s completion, when it was declared a masterpiece, the mural has garnered the praise of such artists as Rembrandt van Rijn and Peter Paul Rubens and such writers as Johann Wolfgang von Goethe and Mary Wollstonecraft Shelley.

It has also inspired countless reproductions, interpretations, conspiracy theories, and works of fiction.

The Last Supper’s delicate condition has not lessened the painting’s appeal; instead, it has become part of the artwork’s legacy. | Source: © Encyclopædia Britannica, Inc.

Leonardo da Vinci | Ultima Cena, 1494-1498 (particolare) | Convento di Santa Maria delle Grazie, Milano

L’Ultima Cena, nota anche con il nome di Cenacolo, dipinta fra il 1494 ed il principio del 1498, è considerato il dipinto murale forse più importante al mondo, “cosa bellissima e maravigliosa”, come scrive Giorgio Vasari che, nelle sue Vite dei più eccellenti pittori, scultori ed architettori, parla anche di Leonardo e descrive il Cenacolo.

"Fece ancora in Milano, ne’ frati di San Domenico a Santa Maria delle Grazie, cosa bellissima e maravigliosa; ed alle teste degli Apostoli diede tanta maestà e bellezza, che quella del Cristo lasciò imperfetta, non pensando poterle dare quella divinità celeste, che alla imagine di Cristo si richiede […]" Giorgio Vasari.

Nel 1463 i frati dell’Ordine Domenicano incaricarono Guiniforte Solari di costruire una Chiesa con annesso convento.

L’intero complesso monastico fu ampliato da Donato Bramante di Urbino che studiò la disposizione delle finestre del Refettorio per ottimizzare la luce in vista della realizzazione dell’affresco del “Cenacolo”, capolavoro di Leonardo da Vinci.

Si tratta di un dipinto parietale ad olio su intonaco (460×880 cm) datato 1494-1498 e conservato nell’ex Convento di Santa Maria delle Grazie a Milano.

Leonardo da Vinci | Ultima Cena, 1494-1498 | Gli Apostoli Pietro e Giovanni | Convento di Santa Maria delle Grazie, Milano

E’ la più famosa rappresentazione dell’Ultima Cena, nome con il quale nella religione cristiana si indica la Cena di Gesù con gli Apostoli durante la Pasqua ebraica, precedente la sua morte.

L’invenzione del pittore nasce dall’utilizzo della luce e dal forte indirizzo prospettico.

Alle spalle dei commensali si aprono tre finestre, oltre le quali si intravede un paesaggio, da cui proviene un’atmosfera luminosa che nella controluce illumina i protagonisti anche ai lati, conferendo all’insieme una prospettiva del tutto particolare.

L’opera, a causa della singolare tecnica utilizzata da Leonardo, incompatibile con l’umidità dell’ambiente, è stata oggetto di una rigorosa conservazione, venendo migliorata notevolmente nel corso di uno dei più lunghi e capillari restauri della storia, durato dal 1978 al 1999 con le tecniche più all’avanguardia del settore. | Fonte: Patrimonio Mondiale UNESCO

Leonardo da Vinci | Ultima Cena, 1494-1498 | Gli Apostoli Tommaso, Giacomo e Filippo | Convento di Santa Maria delle Grazie, Milano

Leonardo ha dipinto l'Ultima Cena nel Refettorio del convento di Santa Maria delle Grazie per volere di Ludovico il Moro, in un arco di tempo che va dal 1494 al 1497.

L'artista, trattandosi di pittura su muro, non si è affidato alla tradizionale quanto resistente tecnica dell'affresco, che impone una veloce stesura del colore sull'intonaco ancora umido, ma ha voluto sperimentare un metodo innovativo che gli consentisse di intervenire sull'intonaco asciutto e, quindi, di poter tornare a più riprese sull'opera curandone ogni minimo particolare.

Leonardo da Vinci | Ultima Cena, 1494-1498 | Gli Apostoli Bartolomeo, Giacomo Minore ed Andrea | Convento di Santa Maria delle Grazie, Milano

Purtroppo le intuizioni di Leonardo si rivelarono sbagliate e ben presto, per un 'infelice concomitanza di cause', la pittura cominciò a deteriorarsi.

Nel corso dei secoli, di conseguenza, si susseguirono molti restauri nel disperato tentativo di salvare il capolavoro.

Nel 1999, dopo oltre vent'anni di lavoro, si è concluso l'ultimo intervento conservativo che, grazie alla rimozione di tante ridipinture, ha riportato in luce quanto restava delle stesure originali.

In Lombardia tra i siti riconosciuti dall’UNESCO "Patrimonio dell’umanità" troviamo Milano con il complesso della Chiesa e Convento Domenicano di Santa Maria delle Grazie ed uno dei dipinti più celebri al mondo: l’Ultima Cena di Leonardo da Vinci, due capolavori assoluti a livello mondiale.

Il complesso è stato inserito nella lista del Patrimonio Unesco nel 1980, testimoniando una cultura ricca di valori da trasmettere all’umanità, che gravita proprio attorno al capoluogo di regione. | © Ministero della cultura Italiana

Leonardo da Vinci | Ultima Cena, 1494-1498 | Gli Apostoli Matteo, Giuda Taddeo e Simone | Convento di Santa Maria delle Grazie, Milano