The Last Supper

One of the most anticipated events of our tour of Italy happened today. Prior to researching every corner of Europe we had no idea that Leonardo Da Vinci's Last Supper was even a work of art that was open to the public. It's housed in its original location (since it is a fresco and they're kinda hard to move) in a relatively modest church in Milan.

It's home is the Santa Maria delle Grazie. This church was the private family church of the Sforza family. They invited Da Vinci, from Florence, to paint the Last Supper in the church's refectory (it's not in the church itself).

We couldn't get tickets, because it seems that tour guides buy up all the tickets, so we did have to book a tour. The tour guide was actually petty insightful. Why is this painting so famous? Apparently it was petty scandalous back in the day. Take a look at the link below. It's probably a better write up than I will, but it shows The Last Supper painted by Domenico Ghirlandaio. Our tour guide had a photo of the same painting. It was apparently pretty standard for the day. The Apostles showed no animation whatsoever. Also the order of the Apostles depicted was always kept consistent in paintings, showing Judas directly across from Jesus.

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Da Vinci's painting broke one of those barriers, giving the Apostles life and animation and depth. Jesus' mouth is depicted slightly open as he is supposed to be captured in the exact moment he is stating that one of the Apostles will betray him. One of the more interesting parts of the painting are the three Apostles to the left of Jesus. Judas is seen with his elbow on the table. He is being pushed to the side by Peter. Peter was considered a protector. He is whispering to John, the youngest Apostle, who is closer to Jesus, to ask Jesus who is the betrayer. As he whispers, you can see he's clutching a knife with the hand behind his back. In doing so, he is exposing Judas to us by pushing him into the foreground.

Also of note, both Judas and Jesus' hands are out-stretched towards pieces of bread on the table. It is meant to show that they shared the Eucharist as friends that night before the betrayal.

Opposite, the Last Supper there is a painting of the crucifixion of Jesus. It's funny, no one seems to care about that painting.

Lastly, the Church and its refectory were bombed in WWII thankfully, preparations were made just in case, as shown in one of the pictures of this post. They supported the wall of both the Last Supper and the Crucifixion with scaffolding and sandbags and that fits the trick. Most of the two structures were reconstructed after the war.Read more