The Making of the Artwork
The Last Supper by Leonardo da Vinci was executed from 1495-1498 in Santa Maria delle Grazie, Milan. Much of da Vinci’s work was paid for by the Duke of Milan, Lodovico Sforza. Da Vinci even left Florence and went to Milan because he thought the Sforzas would be better patrons then the Medicis. It is still one of the most famous artworks to date, but it is quickly being wrecked because of the poor choices of materials.
Challenges Faced Because of the ArtworkThough The Last Supper became one of the greatest masterpieces of all time, it wasn't necessarily an easy process for da Vinci. He faced many different challenges while working on it, and quickly after finishing it. Da Vinci was trying to experiment with new styles of art. One of the new techniques he was trying to use was a different way of making frescoes. While frescoes are commonly made on a wet surface, Leonardo made The Last Supper on a dry surface. Had da Vinci just went with the typical style of art, it would have been a much easier process. Also, he used a new type of paint, which was risky because he didn't know if it would look good or not. Another challenge he faced was the durability of the artwork. It wasn't long after the finishing of the artwork that it began to fall apart and look worn down. By around 1550, people claimed that it was ruined.
The Last Supper has been heavily damaged over time
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Meaning and SignificanceThe Last Supper uses great story telling, and it depicts a very famous scene from the bible. The scene is Jesus' last supper, where he announced that one of his apostles would betray him and he would be killed. He then told his apostles "Take this bread, for this is my body. Take this wine, for this is my blood, and remember me.” On top of the deep religious meaning of this work, it also has meaning in other ways. There is many things portrayed in the artwork that people may not see unless they look at it for a long time. One of these things is the way Judas, the apostle who betrayed Jesus, is sitting at the table. Judas had been offered silver to kill Jesus, and if you look closely, you can see that in The Last Supper, Judas is holding a bag of silver. Also, he was reaching towards the same bowl that Jesus is reaching toward, showing conflict between the two. It is debated what moment the painting is showing, and while some people think it shows the reaction people had to Christ saying “One of you will betray me”, some people think it shows their reaction to him saying “Take this bread, for this is my body. Take this wine, for this is my blood, and remember me.” Either way, you can see how da Vinci included great detail in the emotions and facial expressions of everyone at the table.
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Why is The Last Supper a Masterwork?Da Vinci's painting of The Last Supper is considered great, and a Renaissance achievement, and there are many reasons why. There is a multitude of key elements of Renaissance culture shown in the painting, including facial expression, perspective, etc. As you have already read, the artwork had a deep meaning and significance. On top of this, he took chances with this fresco, which made the fresco require more time and effort. But if you look at just the fresco, you will see how great the detail is in the work. Everything from the depiction of Judas, blending in with the rest of the people at the table, to the great detail in the facial expressions and emotions being portrayed within the fresco, was great and required a lot of effort. One thing that stands out about the work is the way Judas is sitting right in the group of people at the table. Previously, artists trying to depict the Last Supper would often show Judas on the opposite side of the table in order to show separation between him and the other people there. But, da Vinci shows Judas sitting right next to the other people, showing it more accurately to how the Last Supper really happened.
Another artist's interpretation of the last supper, showing Judas on the other side of the table.
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