Painting by L Da Vinci The Last Supper. “The Last Supper” is the brilliant work of Leonardo da Vinci. There are three Last Suppers in the world

Truly great works of art can be endlessly contemplated and endlessly described. This does not make them lose their charm, but they may lose their purpose. The search for ever new – secret and obvious – meanings takes researchers further away from the original source, the more time passes from the moment of its creation and the more seductive the opportunistic background of its careful study.

This happened with the painting “The Last Supper” by Leonardo da Vinci, which does not need additional introduction, especially since Blogoitaliano has already covered it in sufficient detail.

Leonardo da Vinci - painter, sculptor, musician, inventor...

The need for another article dedicated to the great painting (or rather, fresco) is obvious. For centuries, the work has raised and continues to raise too many questions that require, if not detailed coverage, then at least mention.

History of creation: touches to the customer’s portrait

The commissioner of the fresco was the Milanese patron of Leonardo, Duke Lodovico Sforza - a very extraordinary person, which was quite in the spirit of the time. A sensualist, an intriguer, a conspirator, a murderer - and a skilled diplomat, an inspired builder, a lover of music and painting.

His personal friend was the abbot of the Dominican monastery of Santa Maria delle Grazie, the home church of the Sforza family - the church at the monastery.

By and large, the painting of the refectory of Santa Maria delle Grazie, which began in 1494, was a tribute to the duke’s vanity, and the refectory itself was intended not so much for the brethren as for ceremonial receptions.

Monastery of Santa Maria delle Grazie in Milan

Just imagine: the entire Sforza family sits at the main table, above them - according to Catholic tradition - a crucifix, and on the opposite wall, at the same long Italian table - Christ and the Apostles - that same painting of “The Last Supper” by Leonardo da Vinci. Who would refuse to taste the gifts of the earth in such a society?

The crucifix was also not an easy one, and it was from this that the work on painting the refectory began. This is a huge narrative fresco, which the artist Donato Montorfano worked on and which today is considered the only signed creation of this master.

But that's not all. Images of Lodovico, his father Francesco Sforza, his wife Beatrice D'Este and son Massimiliano were placed at the bottom of the Crucifixion fresco. They were written in 1497, after the death of the Duke’s wife, and their author was no longer Montorfano, but Leonardo da Vinci.

Fresco "Crucifixion" by Donato Montorfano

Unfortunately, during the bombing of Milan in 1943, it was the lower part of the fresco that was damaged, and only 2 fragments remained of these images. The paintings on the side walls of the refectory were also completely destroyed, and only the wall where the “Last Supper” was located, lined with sandbags, survived completely.

The Last Supper: plot and composition

The plot of the Last Supper of Christ with his disciples was one of the most popular in the Middle Ages and the Renaissance. According to custom, its image illustrated either the sacrament of the Eucharist (Holy Communion, that is, the transformation of bread and wine into the Body and Blood of Christ), or simultaneously 2 episodes: the words of Jesus that one of his disciples would betray Him, and the communion of the disciples.

These episodes caused the most heated theological disputes throughout the Middle Ages, especially since when comparing the texts of the Gospels it was unclear whether Judas was present at this sacrament or not.

That is why (and, of course, because of betrayal) his figure visually distanced itself from all other figures. Judas could sit on the other side of a long table, there could be a black rather than a golden halo above his head, his clothes contrasted with the clothes of the Savior and the Apostles.

In the center of the composition of the painting by Leonardo da Vinci is the figure of Christ

Leonardo was the first artist to depict Judas along with all the other disciples of Christ, although early sketches indicate that he initially did not intend to violate traditional compositional principles.

However, later he abandoned this idea, wanting to create an image in accordance with the proportions of the “golden section”, that is, the way the human eye perceives the visible.

In the center of the composition of the painting by Leonardo da Vinci is the figure of Christ, as if flooded with light from the central window and its shape resembling a triangle directed upward - a symbol of the Holy Trinity. Outside the windows is a landscape in which one can guess the landscape of the area near Lake Como, which is 40 km from Milan.

The apostles are placed in groups of three, but, in addition to the figure of Jesus, above whose head all the lines of perspective converge, the viewer’s gaze fleetingly glides along the outlines of another triangle, where the golden ratio passes - between the Savior and John - and also rushes upward in religious ecstasy, already then stopping at those sitting to the left of Christ.

"...and one of you will betray Me"

At the same time, da Vinci did not abandon another tradition, according to which the betrayer of Christ should not meet the viewer’s gaze.

Judas in Leonardo's fresco leaned back sharply, simultaneously dropping the salt shaker (a classic bad sign) and clutching his wallet in his hand (an indication of betrayal, and also, according to the text of the Gospel of John, that he was the treasurer of the community).

With his other hand he reaches for bread, according to the Gospel of Luke, where there is a direct indication of this (“... the hand of him who betrays Me is with Me at the table”), despite the fact that the rest of the disciples, after the Savior’s words about betrayal, are clearly not in the mood for a meal. They also do not look at the audience, and this once again emphasizes: the supper is indeed secret, hidden from prying eyes.

Scene of Christ's last supper with his disciples

Leonardo also does not deviate from another tradition - the simultaneous depiction of 2 consecutive episodes combined in 1 scene. Communion is illustrated almost literally: Christ’s right hand is extended to the bread, blood flows from his left wrist in a tight stream. In this regard, the viewer has an ambivalent impression of the presented scene.

Some of the Apostles are clearly outraged by Jesus’ words about betrayal, while others express a completely natural human (!) reaction to the sudden appearance of a wound. Moreover, it is not the blood itself that causes amazement (in the 15th century the sight of blood would not have frightened anyone), but rather the miracle of its appearance, which is characteristic of the religious worldview.

Masterfully depicting both amazement and indignation, Leonardo, unlike earlier artists, actually managed to combine 2 episodes in one scene of the Last Supper.

The first sketches of the Last Supper are in the Venetian Academy

To some extent, the artist, with the help of fine art, managed to resolve the long-standing theological dispute about the presence/absence of Judas during the sacrament.

But there is one more element in the fresco that, unnoticed by the modern viewer, enhances the overall impression of the painting as a work imbued with true religiosity.

The fish on the table is another Eucharistic symbol, referring the viewer to the 3rd (number 3 again) episode about the feeding of the people in the desert with loaves and fishes, as well as an early Christian sacred sign of Jesus and faith in the Savior.

Where and how to see the fresco

As we wrote above, there is a blog dedicated to the famous fresco on BlogoItaliano. In it we dwelled in detail on the most practical issue - where and how can you see the Last Supper.

When going to Milan and wanting to see this masterpiece by Leonardo da Vinci, take into account that it is highly advisable to buy tickets to view the fresco in advance. The fact is that every day people can enter the refectory of the monastery of Santa Maria delle Grazie artificially. limited number of visitors.

And since tickets to watch the Last Supper can be purchased online (on this website), this creates natural difficulties with purchasing “day-to-day”: all available quotas are simply purchased in advance. There are often cases when there are no tickets left at the box office even 2 months before the expected date of your visit to Milan.

Fresco The Last Supper by Leonardo da Vinci in Milan - where it is, how to get there, where to buy tickets. Description of the work, interesting and little-known facts.

The glory of this masterpiece, which is one of the most famous works of art, attracts tourists from all over the world to Milan. The Last Supper of Leonardo da Vinci, painted by him between 1495-1498, is located on the wall in the building of the former refectory of the monastery complex, next to the Church of Santa Maria delle Grazie, located in the city square of the same name. Even during the master’s lifetime, the wall painting was considered one of his best works, having a stunning influence on the work of several subsequent generations of artists. For more than 500 years, it has attracted the inexhaustible interest of historians, researchers and novelists, who still strive to unravel the supposed mysteries associated with the magnificent painting.

Leonardo's Last Supper: description of the work

Leonardo da Vinci's Last Supper is a visual interpretation of an event recorded in all four canonical books of the Christian New Testament. The presented scene, recreating the last meal of Christ with his disciples, most closely matches the description set out in chapter 13 of the Gospel of John. In his version, the artist depicted the moment when Jesus announces the betrayal of one of those present, causing various reactions from his twelve followers - from varying degrees of horror to shock and anger, captured in the faces and in the dynamic poses of the figures sitting at the refectory table. Thus, by showing the extraordinary tension between the characters, Leonardo introduced great Christian drama into art for the first time, which was extremely unusual at that time. In addition, the master neglected the traditional iconographic canons, daring to paint the Savior without a golden mandorla (radiance), and the apostles surrounding him without traditional halos in favor of the realism of the created masterpiece.

To get rid of the use of halos of holiness, he placed three windows in the background, the widest of which is behind Jesus. The light emanating from it seemed to surround the Savior with an almost divine radiance, thereby concentrating all attention on the main character, and the real sun rays coming from the windows of the refectory complemented and enlivened the wall painting.

Despite numerous criticisms from the clergy of the Church, they subsequently admitted that no one had ever been able to better convey the meaning of the divine meal described in the Gospel, as Leonardo da Vinci did.

Interesting facts about Leonardo da Vinci's Last Supper

The Last Supper - the test of time and the revival of a masterpiece

Leonardo da Vinci was not satisfied with the traditional technique of painting frescoes, which involved applying strokes of paint on wet plaster, since in this case he was not able to draw the smallest details and see the full naturalness of the resulting color, which lost its original brightness upon final drying. In addition, this method of creating wall paintings, used by most of his contemporaries, required quick work from scratch and did not allow repainting the surface, which was unacceptable for Leonardo, who often made changes and additions to the work of art he created. Therefore, in order not to sacrifice the skill of execution, the artist used a mixture of tempera and oil as an experiment, applying the resulting paint directly onto dry plaster. However, he did not know or did not take into account that such a dense dry base was not able to fully absorb the oil-based paint, which after a few years began to peel off and peel off from the wall, as a result of which the master had to correct and restore damaged fragments.

In 1652, the inhabitants of the monastery cut out a new door in the wall with the already fairly crumbling fresco, while removing a small part of it, on which the feet of Christ were depicted. Subsequently, numerous and ineptly carried out restorations, which began already in the 16th century, only worsened the deplorable condition of the masterpiece. Only in 1954, Leonardo da Vinci’s Last Supper was cleared of the previously applied layers, the identified remains of the original painting were fixed, and some lost fragments were restored from ancient copies. As you know, three of the artist’s students made full-scale copies of the original fresco by Leonardo da Vinci. In particular, the painting of the Last Supper, preserved today in the Royal Academy of Arts in London, reproduced on canvas in the smallest detail by Giampetrino (Giovan Pietro Rizzoli), was taken as the basis for the last restoration work, completed in 1999.

Last Supper. Copy of Giampetrino. 1520

Another similar example by the Italian painter Andrea Solari (Andrea di Bartoli Solari, 1460-1524) is located in the monastery of the Tongerlo Abbey in Belgium, and the third, by Cesare da Sesto (1477-1523) is in the church of San Ambrogio in Switzerland . Thanks to these exact copies, the original of Leonardo da Vinci's Last Supper was not lost forever and today it can still be seen in a building located next to the Church of Santa Maria delle Grazie in the square of the same name in Milan.

How to visit and where to buy tickets

Leonardo da Vinci's Last Supper is undoubtedly one of the most attractive attractions in Milan. However, the number of tickets on sale is very limited, since the building of the former refectory of the monastery of Santa Maria delle Grazie is absolutely not suitable for receiving a large number of tourists.

Only small groups, about 20-25 people, who can contemplate the masterpiece for 15 minutes, are allowed into the room. Since the flow of applicants almost never dries up, tickets must be purchased in advance, at least 1-2 months in advance, either through the official website or through the website of an authorized partner, given in the form below.

Advance booking of tickets for the Last Supper is mandatory.. It is worth considering that tickets purchased online can be obtained at the box office only upon presentation of an identification document of the visitor stated in the order, and no less than 30 minutes before the designated time.

"The Last Supper" by Leonardo da Vinci is one of the most famous paintings in the world. This work of art was painted between 1494 and 1498 and represents Jesus' last meal with his apostles. The painting was commissioned by Louis Sforza. Leonardo's "Last Supper" remains to this day in its original place - on the wall in the refectory of the monastery of Santa Maria delle Grazi.

Plot

In 1494, Leonardo da Vinci began what would become one of the most influential works of art in history. The Last Supper is Leonardo's visual interpretation of an event recorded in all four Gospels. In the evening, Christ gathered his apostles together to have a last dinner and tell them that he knew the coming event about the betrayal of one of them. All 12 of his followers reacted to this news with different emotions: fear, anger, bewilderment, and even hatred.

Maundy Thursday: The Last Supper and the Institution of the Sacraments

Unlike similar works, Leonardo chose to illustrate the specific moment in the Gospel story when Jesus tells his followers that one of them will betray him, paying great attention to individual expressive reactions. Referring to the Gospel, Leonardo depicts Philip asking: “Lord, is it me?”, to which Christ replies: “Whoever puts his hand on the plate with me will betray me.” And the audience sees that, together with Christ, Judas is simultaneously pulling his hand towards the saucer on the table.
The calm composure of Jesus, with his head and eyes bowed, contrasts with the agitation of the apostles. They are all grouped in groups of three. James, to Christ's left, angrily waves his arms, while the unbelieving Thomas, behind James, points upward and appears to ask, "Is this God's plan?" Thomas at this moment tries to touch the wounds of Christ in order to believe in the resurrection. Peter, with a knife in his hand (he later used it to cut off the ear of a soldier trying to arrest Jesus), approaches John, who is sitting to the right of Jesus. Judas grabbed the pouch containing his reward for identifying Jesus.

Judas and the Spilled Salt

At the same time, Leonardo also describes the sacrament of the Eucharist (Christ blessing the meal - the miraculous transformation of bread and wine into the body and blood of Christ).

Technique for performing a masterpiece

“The Last Supper” by Leonardo da Vinci, a huge painting measuring 4.6 x 8.8 meters, was made of tempera and oil on a plaster blank instead of technique. Why was the fresco technique popular at that time not used? Leonardo did not like her for two reasons. Firstly, he wanted to achieve greater brightness than the fresco method allowed. Secondly, the fast-drying fresco technique required quick work and haste. And Leonardo is known for his meticulous and lengthy work process.
The painting was made using self-created pigments directly onto dry plaster on the wall, and unlike frescoes where pigments were mixed into wet plaster, it has not stood the test of time. Even before the painting was completed, part of the canvas had already begun to peel off from the wall and Leonardo had to adjust it again.
To create this unique work, Leonardo created a huge number of preparatory sketches.

Preliminary works by Leonardo

Composition: hammer + nail

Two devices - a hammer and a nail - helped Leonardo achieve the desired perspective. What makes The Last Supper so striking is the perspective that seems to invite the viewer to step onto the dramatic stage and partake of Christ's meal. To achieve this illusion of depth on a flat surface, Leonardo da Vinci drove a nail into the wall and then tied a string to it to make marks that aided in creating perspective. This technique was rediscovered during the Renaissance. Another detail of the composition: the twelve apostles are grouped in four groups of three, and there are also three windows. The number three is often a reference to the Holy Trinity in Catholic art. Additionally, the painting is symmetrical with an equal number of figures on either side of Jesus.

Composition of the painting

Magdalene or John?

Many attentive viewers of the picture are interested in one question - after all, it is obvious that a woman is depicted to the right of Jesus, while the church has been sincerely convincing people for thousands of years in the version of the Apostle John (he also wrote the “Gospel of John the Theologian”)?
Everything about the Apostle John is strikingly feminine. These are thin graceful hands, beautiful delicate facial features and a gold necklace. An interesting fact is that this woman, in her pose and attire, is a mirror image of Christ: the same style of cloak and robe, the same tilt of her head. No one at the table wears clothing that thus reflects Jesus' clothing. Both Jesus and, presumably, Magdalene are in their inner thoughts, as if they do not notice the variety of emotions of the surrounding apostles. They are both serene and calm. The central place in the overall composition is occupied by the figure-letter that Jesus and this woman create together - this is a giant, outstretched letter “M” (quite possibly, this is the author’s message to the name of Magdalene).

Symbolism

A number of art historians and scholars are actively discussing the meaning of the vessel with spilled salt near the elbow of Judas. Spilled salt can symbolize failure, loss of religion or faith in Christ.
The second symbolic riddle is whether the fish on the table is a herring or an eel. This is important because each has its own symbolic meaning. In Italian, the word for eel is “aringa,” which means suggestion. In the Northern Italian dialect, the word for herring, renga, describes a person who denies religion (and this corresponds to Jesus' biblical prediction that his apostle Peter would deny knowing him). Thus, the eel symbolizes faith in Jesus, and the herring, on the contrary, symbolizes the unbeliever.

In one of the quiet corners of Milan, lost in the lace of narrow streets, stands the Church of Santa Maria della Grazie. Next to it, in an inconspicuous refectory building, a masterpiece of masterpieces, the fresco “The Last Supper” by Leonardo da Vinci, has been living and amazing people for more than 500 years.

The composition of “The Last Supper” by Leonardo da Vinci was commissioned by Duke Lodovico Moro, who ruled Milan at that time. The plot of “The Last Supper” was depicted by Florentine painters even before Leonardo, but among them only the work of Giotto (or his students) and two frescoes by Domenico Ghirlandaio can be noted.

For his fresco on the wall of the refectory of the monastery of Santa Maria della Grazie, da Vinci chose the moment when Christ says to his disciples: “Truly I tell you, one of you will betray me,” and the icy breath of inevitable fate touched each of the apostles.

After these words, a variety of feelings were expressed on their faces: some were amazed, others were outraged, others were saddened.

Young Philip, ready for self-sacrifice, bowed to Christ, Jacob threw up his hands in tragic bewilderment, was about to rush at the traitor, Peter grabbed a knife, Judas’s right hand clutched a purse with fatal pieces of silver...

For the first time in painting, the most complex range of feelings found such a deep and subtle reflection. Everything in this fresco is done with amazing truth and care, even the folds on the tablecloth covering the table look real.

In Leonardo, just like in Giotto, all the figures in the composition are located on the same line - facing the viewer. Christ is depicted without a halo, the apostles without their attributes, which were characteristic of them in ancient paintings.

They express their emotional anxiety through their facial expressions and movements. “The Last Supper” is one of Leonardo’s great creations, whose fate turned out to be very tragic. Anyone who has seen this fresco in our days experiences a feeling of indescribable grief at the sight of the terrible losses that inexorable time and human barbarity have inflicted on the masterpiece.

Meanwhile, how much time, how much inspired work and the most ardent love Leonardo da Vinci invested in the creation of his work! They say that he could often be seen, suddenly abandoning everything he was doing, running in the middle of the day in the most intense heat to St. Mary's Church to draw a single line or correct the outline in the Last Supper.

He was so passionate about his work that he wrote incessantly, sat at it from morning to evening, forgetting about food and drink. It happened, however, that for several days he did not take up his brush at all, but even on such days he remained in the refectory for two or three hours, indulging in thought and examining the figures already painted.

All this greatly irritated the prior of the Dominican monastery, to whom (as Vasari writes) “it seemed strange that Leonardo stood immersed in thought and contemplation for a good half of the day.

He wanted the artist not to let go of his brushes, just as one does not stop working in the garden. The abbot complained to the duke himself, but he, after listening to Leonardo, said that the artist was right a thousand times over. As Leonardo explained to him, the artist first creates in his mind and imagination, and then captures his inner creativity with a brush.”

Leonardo carefully chose models for the images of the apostles. He went every day to those quarters of Milan where the lower strata of society and even criminal people lived. There he was looking for a model for the face of Judas, whom he considered the greatest scoundrel in the world.

The entire composition of “The Last Supper” is permeated with the movement that the words of Christ gave rise to. On the wall, as if overcoming it, the ancient gospel tragedy unfolds before the viewer. The traitor Judas sits with the other apostles, while the old masters depicted him sitting separately.

But Leonardo da Vinci brought out his gloomy isolation much more convincingly, shrouding his features in shadow. Jesus Christ is the center of the entire composition, of all the whirlpool of passions that rage around him. Leonardo's Christ is the ideal of human beauty; nothing betrays deity in him. His inexpressibly tender face breathes deep sorrow, he is great and touching, but he remains human. In the same way, fear, surprise, horror, vividly depicted by the gestures, movements, and facial expressions of the apostles, do not exceed ordinary human feelings.

This gave the French researcher Charles Clément reason to ask the question: “Having perfectly expressed true feelings, did Leonardo give his creation all the power that such a subject requires?” Da Vinci was by no means a Christian or a religious artist; religious thought does not appear in any of his works. No confirmation of this was found in his notes, where he consistently wrote down all his thoughts, even the most secret ones.

Christ and the twelve apostles sit on this elevation, closing the monks’ tables with a quadrangle, and, as it were, celebrate their supper with them.

The identities of the apostles have repeatedly been the subject of controversy, but judging by the inscriptions on a copy of the painting kept in Lugano, from left to right: Bartholomew, James the Younger, Andrew, Judas, Peter, John, Thomas, James the Elder, Philip, Matthew, Thaddeus and Simon Zelot.

From the center - Jesus Christ - the movement spreads across the figures of the apostles in breadth, until, in its utmost tension, it rests on the edges of the refectory. And then our gaze again rushes to the lonely figure of the Savior. His head is illuminated as if by the natural light of the refectory.

Light and shadow, dissolving each other in an elusive movement, gave the face of Christ a special spirituality. But when creating his “Last Supper,” Leonardo could not draw the face of Jesus Christ. He carefully painted the faces of all the apostles, the landscape outside the refectory window, and the dishes on the table. After much searching, I wrote Jude. But the face of the Savior remained the only one unfinished on this fresco.

It would seem that “The Last Supper” should have been carefully preserved, but in reality everything turned out differently. The great da Vinci himself is partly to blame for this. When creating the fresco, Leonardo used a new (he himself invented) method of priming the wall and a new composition of paints. This allowed him to work slowly, intermittently, making frequent changes to already written parts of the work.

The result at first turned out to be excellent, but after a few years, traces of incipient destruction appeared on the painting: spots of dampness appeared, the paint layer began to peel off in small leaves. In 1500, three years after the writing of the Last Supper, water flooded the refectory, touching the fresco. Ten years later, a terrible plague struck Milan, and the monastic brethren forgot about the treasure kept in their monastery. By 1566 she was already in a very pitiful state.

The monks cut a door in the middle of the picture, which was needed to connect the refectory with the kitchen. This door destroyed the legs of Christ and some of the apostles, and then the picture was disfigured with a huge state emblem, which was attached above the picture itself.

Later, the painting was restored many times, but not always successfully. What gives The Last Supper its unique character is that, unlike other paintings of its kind, it shows the amazing variety and richness of the characters’ emotions caused by Jesus’ words that one of his disciples would betray him.

No other painting of the Last Supper can even come close to the unique composition and attention to detail in Leonardo's masterpiece.

So what secrets could the great artist encrypt in his creation? In The Discovery of the Templars, Clive Prince and Lynn Picknett argue that several elements of the structure of the Last Supper indicate symbols encrypted in it.

First, they believe that the figure on the right hand of Jesus (to the viewer's left) is not John, but a woman. She is wearing a robe, the color of which contrasts with the clothes of Christ, and she is tilted in the opposite direction from Jesus, who is sitting in the center. The space between this female figure and Jesus is shaped like a V, and the figures themselves form an M.

Secondly, in the picture, in their opinion, next to Peter a certain hand is visible, clutching a knife. Prince and Picknett claim that this hand does not belong to any of the characters in the film.

Thirdly, sitting directly to the left of Jesus (to the right for the audience), Thomas, addressing Christ, raised his finger. According to the authors, this is a typical gesture of John the Baptist.

And finally, there is a hypothesis that the Apostle Thaddeus, sitting with his back to Christ, is actually a self-portrait of Leonardo himself.

The recently completed latest restoration of the painting has made it possible to learn a lot about it. But the question of secret messages and forgotten symbols remains open.

Be that as it may, there is still a lot to be done in the future to unravel these mysteries. I would like to understand at least to the smallest extent the plans of the great master.

The very name of da Vinci’s famous painting “The Last Supper” carries a sacred meaning. Indeed, many of Leonardo’s paintings are surrounded by an aura of mystery. In The Last Supper, as in many other works of the artist, there is a lot of symbolism and hidden messages.
The restoration of the legendary creation was recently completed. Thanks to this, we were able to learn many interesting facts related to its history. The meaning of the picture still remains cloudy and not entirely clear for many. More and more new guesses are being born around the hidden meaning of the Last Supper.
Leonardo da Vinci is one of the most mysterious personalities in the history of fine art. Some almost canonize the artist and write odes of praise to him, others, on the contrary, consider him a blasphemer who sold his soul to the devil, while no one doubts the genius of the great Italian.

The history of the painting

It’s hard to believe, but the painting “The Last Supper” was painted in 1495 at the order of the Duke of Milan, Ludovico Sforza. Despite the fact that the ruler was famous for his dissolute life, he had a very modest and well-behaved wife, Beatrice, whom he, it is worth noting, greatly respected and revered.
But, unfortunately, the true power of his love was revealed only when his wife suddenly died. The Duke's grief was so great that he did not leave his chambers for 15 days, and when he left, the first thing he did was order Leonardo da Vinci to paint a fresco, which his late wife had once asked for, and forever put an end to his riotous lifestyle.



The artist completed his unique creation in 1498. Its dimensions were 880 by 460 centimeters. The Last Supper can be best viewed if you move 9 meters to the side and rise 3.5 meters up. When creating the painting, Leonardo used egg tempera, which later played a cruel joke on him. The canvas began to collapse just 20 years after its creation.
The famous fresco is located in the Church of Santa Maria delle Grazie on one of the walls of the refectory in Milan. According to art historians, the artist specifically depicted in the picture exactly the same table and dishes that were in the church at that time. With this simple technique, he tried to show that Jesus and Judas (good and evil) are much closer than we think. 1. The identities of the apostles depicted on the canvas have repeatedly been the subject of controversy. Judging by the inscriptions on the reproduction of the painting kept in Lugano, these are (from left to right) Bartholomew, James the Younger, Andrew, Judas, Peter, John, Thomas, James the Elder, Philip, Matthew, Thaddeus and Simon Zelotes.




2. Many historians believe that this painting depicts Euhrasty (communion), as Jesus Christ points with both hands to the table with wine and bread. True, there is an alternative version. It will be discussed below...
3. Many people know the story from school that the hardest thing for Da Vinci to do while painting was Jesus and Judas. Initially, the artist planned to make them the embodiment of good and evil and for a long time could not find people who would serve as models for creating his masterpiece.
Once, during a church service, an Italian saw a young man in the choir, so spiritual and pure that there was no doubt: this was the incarnation of Jesus for his “Last Supper.”
The last character whose prototype the artist was unable to find until recently was Judas. The artist spent hours wandering the narrow Italian streets in search of a suitable model. And now, 3 years later, da Vinci found what he was looking for. A drunk man was lying in a ditch, who had long been on the edge of society. The artist ordered the drunkard to be brought to his studio. The man practically could not stand on his feet and had little idea where he had ended up.


After the image of Judas was completed, the drunkard approached the picture and admitted that he had seen it somewhere before. To the author’s bewilderment, the man replied that three years ago he was unrecognizable: he sang in a church choir and led a righteous lifestyle. It was then that some artist approached him with a proposal to paint Christ from him.


Thus, according to historians, Jesus and Judas were painted from the same person at different periods of his life. This fact serves as a metaphor for the fact that good and evil go hand in hand and there is a very thin line between them.
4. The most controversial is the opinion that on the right hand of Jesus Christ is not a man at all, but none other than Mary Magdalene. Her location indicates that she was the legal wife of Jesus. The silhouettes of Mary Magdalene and Jesus form the letter "M". Supposedly it means the word “Matrimonio”, which is translated as “marriage”.


5. According to some scientists, the unusual arrangement of the students on the canvas is not accidental. They say that Leonardo da Vinci placed people according to zodiac signs. According to this legend, Jesus was a Capricorn and his beloved Mary Magdalene was a virgin.
6. It is impossible not to mention the fact that during the Second World War, as a result of a shell hitting the church building, almost everything was destroyed except the wall on which the fresco was depicted.
However, in 1566, local monks made a door in the wall depicting the Last Supper, which “cut off” the legs of the characters in the picture. Later, the Milanese coat of arms was hung over the Savior’s head. And at the end of the 17th century, the refectory was turned into a stable.
7. No less interesting are the thoughts of the priests of art about the food depicted on the table. For example, near Judas Leonardo painted an overturned salt shaker (which at all times was considered a bad omen), as well as an empty plate.


8. There is an assumption that the Apostle Thaddeus, sitting with his back to Christ, is actually a self-portrait of da Vinci himself. And, given the artist’s disposition and his atheistic views, this hypothesis is more than likely.