About Leonardo da Vinci
A Short Biography:
Leonardo da Vinci was born in Vinci, Italy on April 15, 1452. Leonardo was the son of a Florentine notary and a peasant woman, but he was raised by his father and stepmothers. When Leonardo was fourteen he began apprenticing with the famous artist Verrocchio ("Leonardo Da Vinci"). With Verrocchio, Leonardo studied many topics covering technical skills, art, humanities and more. After working with Verrocchio for six years, the twenty year old Leonardo da Vinci had become qualified as a master in the Guild of St Luke. At this time Leonardo had also created his own workshop.
Around the age of twenty-two Leonardo’s whereabouts were unsure for about two years. After these two years Leonardo began to work in Milan from about 1482 to 1499. In Milan he was commissioned to paint many pieces such The Last Supper. Leonardo often worked for Ludovico Sforza (Duke of Milan) until he was overthrown, which lead to Leonardo fleeing to Venice and traveling the country at around the time of the Second Italian War of 1499.
In 1502 Leonardo had entered the service of Cesare Borgia where he was a military architect and engineer. Nearly a year later Leonardo had returned to Florence where he reentered the Guild of St Luke on October 18th of 1503. There he spent two years creating his piece The Battle of Anghiari. By 1508 Leonardo was back in Milan, and in 1516 he had worked for Francis I of France (the period in which Francis recaptured Milan) and remained there for the last years of his life. On May 2 of 1519 Leonardo had died at Amboise, France, “He was buried in the Chapel of Saint-Hubert in the castle of Amboise” ("Leonardo Da Vinci Biography"). ("Leonardo Da Vinci" & “Leonardo Da Vinci Biography”)
In all, Leonardo da Vinci was one of the greatest Renaissance artist, but the focus of this page will be on his famous piece The Last Supper.
Leonardo da Vinci was born in Vinci, Italy on April 15, 1452. Leonardo was the son of a Florentine notary and a peasant woman, but he was raised by his father and stepmothers. When Leonardo was fourteen he began apprenticing with the famous artist Verrocchio ("Leonardo Da Vinci"). With Verrocchio, Leonardo studied many topics covering technical skills, art, humanities and more. After working with Verrocchio for six years, the twenty year old Leonardo da Vinci had become qualified as a master in the Guild of St Luke. At this time Leonardo had also created his own workshop.
Around the age of twenty-two Leonardo’s whereabouts were unsure for about two years. After these two years Leonardo began to work in Milan from about 1482 to 1499. In Milan he was commissioned to paint many pieces such The Last Supper. Leonardo often worked for Ludovico Sforza (Duke of Milan) until he was overthrown, which lead to Leonardo fleeing to Venice and traveling the country at around the time of the Second Italian War of 1499.
In 1502 Leonardo had entered the service of Cesare Borgia where he was a military architect and engineer. Nearly a year later Leonardo had returned to Florence where he reentered the Guild of St Luke on October 18th of 1503. There he spent two years creating his piece The Battle of Anghiari. By 1508 Leonardo was back in Milan, and in 1516 he had worked for Francis I of France (the period in which Francis recaptured Milan) and remained there for the last years of his life. On May 2 of 1519 Leonardo had died at Amboise, France, “He was buried in the Chapel of Saint-Hubert in the castle of Amboise” ("Leonardo Da Vinci Biography"). ("Leonardo Da Vinci" & “Leonardo Da Vinci Biography”)
In all, Leonardo da Vinci was one of the greatest Renaissance artist, but the focus of this page will be on his famous piece The Last Supper.
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A short video Biography on Leonardo da Vinci.
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The Last Supper
About The Last Supper
The Last Supper by Leonardo da Vinci was commissioned by Ludovico Sforza, Duke of Milan. If you can recall, Leonardo lived in Milan and worked for Ludovico Sforza for about seventeen-to-eighteen years of his life. Sforza wanted Leonardo to paint him a scene that had Jesus Christ and the Apostles at the Last Supper. The Last Supper is the last meal of Jesus Christ before the Apostle Judas gets Jesus arrested (to read more about this situation/story click here or here) (Esaak).
More Details:
Artist: Leonardo da Vinci
Location: Santa Maria delle Grazie
Created: 1495–1498
Subject: Jesus Christ
Dimensions: 15' 1" x 29' (4.6 m x 8.8 m)
As you can see in the above photo, The Last Supper has deteriorated since its creation. The painting is not in great condition, but it has been able to be preserved. Although, the reason for its deterioration lies within Leonardo’s experimentation with this painting. Leonardo did not use the method of fresco that was common upon artist from the Renaissance, this method being tempera on wet plaster. Instead Leonardo painted The Last Supper on dry plaster with a mixture of oil paint and tempera. As one can tell, Leonardo’s methods did not prove to work well. To be able to see the painting in a more clear view, the following photo is a replica of Leonardo’s Last Supper.
More Details:
Artist: Leonardo da Vinci
Location: Santa Maria delle Grazie
Created: 1495–1498
Subject: Jesus Christ
Dimensions: 15' 1" x 29' (4.6 m x 8.8 m)
As you can see in the above photo, The Last Supper has deteriorated since its creation. The painting is not in great condition, but it has been able to be preserved. Although, the reason for its deterioration lies within Leonardo’s experimentation with this painting. Leonardo did not use the method of fresco that was common upon artist from the Renaissance, this method being tempera on wet plaster. Instead Leonardo painted The Last Supper on dry plaster with a mixture of oil paint and tempera. As one can tell, Leonardo’s methods did not prove to work well. To be able to see the painting in a more clear view, the following photo is a replica of Leonardo’s Last Supper.
If you compare this photo with the original work, you can tell that in the reproduction, Jesus' feet are showing. The reason in which Jesus' feet are not showing in the original is because someone decided to place a door in the middle of the wall where the painting was located, eliminating the sight of his feet.
Who and What
To understand this painting, we must know who is in it and what is happening.
Getting back to the story of what is happening in this painting; it is commonly believed that this painting can be considered a reaction painting. When Jesus and his Apostles gather around the table, Jesus reveals that one of the twelve Apostles will betray him. In Leonardo’s art, he painted the scene that would have happened right after Jesus’ announcement at the table. Thus with the betrayal happening after the meal, this is Jesus’ last supper/meal. After his announcement, Jesus blesses the wine and bread that they will eat and drink. When blessing the bread he states, “Take, eat; this is my body” (SmartHistory) and when blessing the wine he states, “Drink from it all of you; for this is my blood of the covenant, which is poured out for the forgiveness of sins” (Matthew 26) (SmartHistory, Esaak).
If you look at the twelve Apostles you will notice that they are grouped into four groups of three people, with Jesus in the middle. Another thing to note about this painting is its perspective. It has a one point perspective with Jesus being the midpoint. One can also tell that the arrangement of the Apostles and Jesus are slightly crowded giving a chaotic and dramatic mood to this part of the painting. (SmartHistory, Esaak)
Getting back to the story of what is happening in this painting; it is commonly believed that this painting can be considered a reaction painting. When Jesus and his Apostles gather around the table, Jesus reveals that one of the twelve Apostles will betray him. In Leonardo’s art, he painted the scene that would have happened right after Jesus’ announcement at the table. Thus with the betrayal happening after the meal, this is Jesus’ last supper/meal. After his announcement, Jesus blesses the wine and bread that they will eat and drink. When blessing the bread he states, “Take, eat; this is my body” (SmartHistory) and when blessing the wine he states, “Drink from it all of you; for this is my blood of the covenant, which is poured out for the forgiveness of sins” (Matthew 26) (SmartHistory, Esaak).
If you look at the twelve Apostles you will notice that they are grouped into four groups of three people, with Jesus in the middle. Another thing to note about this painting is its perspective. It has a one point perspective with Jesus being the midpoint. One can also tell that the arrangement of the Apostles and Jesus are slightly crowded giving a chaotic and dramatic mood to this part of the painting. (SmartHistory, Esaak)
The first group of Apostles, moving from the left to the right in the painting, includes Bartholomew, James Minor, and Andrew. These three are all reacting in a horrified and shocked manner, for betraying Jesus was an odd idea to them. Even Andrew’s hand gestures signify a mood of wanting to “calm down” or “stop”. (JayDax, Esaak)
The third group of Apostles consists of Thomas, James Major, and Philip. Thomas is questioning Christ, and is pointing upwards to seek some sort of evidence or proof that someone will indeed betray Christ. It is possible that he is questioning if this situation was something that God had planned for Jesus Christ and the Apostles. Both James Major and Philip have similar responses to Jesus, except for their gestures. Both are stunned and want clarification from Christ, with James Major he has his arms spread wide, and Philip has his arms collapsed together, giving a sense of self questioning, he could be wondering if the betrayer is him and is seeking for Christ to answer. (JayDax, Esaak)
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In the second group, there is Judas, Peter, and John. In the photo you can see Judas has a shadowed face, which symbolizes his death by suicide that comes later by hanging. He is also holding a bag of silver that he was paid to betray Jesus Christ. The hand that is not holding the silver is reaching for the same wine that Jesus is. As for Peter you can see that he is holding a knife in one hand, which represents his desire to prevent Christ from being betrayed, essentially playing the role of being Christ protector. He is also angry and is looking to John for possible answers. John leans in to try and hear what Peter is talking about.(JayDax, Esaak, SmartHistory)
For the last, fourth, group, there is Matthew, Thaddeus, and Simon. Matthew and Thaddeus both seem to be seeking answers from Simon about Jesus’ statement in which he does not have much of an answer to give them. (JayDax, Esaak) |
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As stated Jesus Christ is in the middle of the photo. As one can tell, the stance of Christ in comparison to the Apostles is very calming. Christ is calm why the others have a chaotic energy. When looking at the photo, the attention of the audience is draw into Jesus Christ. Leonardo created a one point perspective with Christ, everything is drawn into him. His body also takes shape of an equilateral triangle. With these situations, one can tell that Leonardo brought in mathematics and science into his art.
It is also important to point out that Jesus is reaching for both wine and bread in this photo. This signifies the institution of the Sacrament of Eucharist, where he states, “Take, eat; this is my body” (SmartHistory) about the bread, and “Drink from it all of you; for this is my blood of the covenant, which is poured out for the forgiveness of sins” (Matthew 26) (SmartHistory) about the wine. Also as Jesus reaches for the wine, Judas reaches in the same direction. |
There a few more things to say about this painting. First, the scenery seen through the windows in the back is believed to be paradise, “it has been suggested that this heavenly sanctuary can only be reached through Christ” (SmartHistory). The constant reoccurring number of three is a reference to the Holy Trinity in Catholic art (three windows, groups of three Apostles). (SmartHistory)
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About The Video:
This video consist of two speakers, Dr. Beth Harris and Dr. Steven Zucker, discussing The Last Supper and analyzing it and giving more insight to the meaning behind this great painting by Leonardo da Vinci. It also compares the work of Leonardo's take on The Last Supper with versions done earlier in time. To view more videos, or read, about Leonardo da Vinci and The Last Supper, along with other great works, visit the Biography. website. |