Hunter Guzman
4/28/13
Extra Credit Assignment

Leonardo Da Vinci The Last Supper

Leonardo Da Vinci’s The Last Supper is one of the most famous and recognized paintings of all time. Leonardo’s employer at the time: Ludovico Sforza, asked Leonardo to paint this specific religious scene in 1945. The original mural is on a wall of the refectory in the Covent of Santa Maria delle Grazie in Milan, Itlay. It took Leonardo from the time he began working on the mural in 1945, all the way until 1498 to finish the final project. It is his visual interpretation of an event that is mentioned in all four of the Gospels (books in the Christian New Testament). From my understanding, it is a painting of the evening before Christ was betrayed by one of his disciples in which he gathered them to eat, told them he had an idea of what was coming, and he washed their feet as a gesture to symbolize that they are all equal under the eyes of the lord. As they ate together, Christ gave the disciples explicit instructions on how to eat and drink in the future, in remembrance of him. It was the first celebration of the Eucharist, a ritual that is still performed frequently today. However, in my opinion the most important event that this painting depicts is how Christ dropped the bombshell that one of the disciples would betray him before sunrise, showing how all twelve of disciples reacted with looks of horror, anger, and shock to the news. In my opinion, the Composition of the mural is absolutely remarkable. For starters, the disciples are all displaying very human, identifiable emotions. Even though “The Last Supper” had certainly been painted before, Leonardo Da Vinci’s version was the first to depict real people acting like real people! Another reason why I believe the Composition in this painting is remarkable is due to the fact that the technical perspective is incredible. You can literally tell that every single element of the painting directs one’s attention straight to the midpoint of the composition, Christ’s head. This painting is arguably the greatest example of one point perspective ever created. From my point of view, it’s as if the whole painting is caving inwards towards the middle of the scene leaving no choice but to trick the viewer into looking directly at Christ. When analyzing the painting very carefully, you realize that each character is reacting differently to the news that Christ had just bestowed upon them. Looking from left to right, you can see the first group of three disciples known as Bartholomew, James Minor, and Andrew which all seem to be in the state of shock. Andrew is to the point of holding his hands up in a “stop!” gesture. Next we see the next group of three made up by Judas, Peter, and John.