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Leonardo da Vinci is believed to have
produced less than 20 completed paintings over
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his lifetime that we know of. This relatively small
number reflects his meticulous working process, his
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perfectionism, and his tendency to leave projects
unfinished or abandon them entirely. And yet he did
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finish the world's most famous painting, the second
most famous painting, and the most famous drawing
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in the world. Few Works carry the weight of History,
emotion, and Technical Brilliance, like Leonardo's
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the Last Supper. The Artist understood the rules
of painting but he also knew how to break those
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rules, and his radical use of perspective light and
Anatomy created a lifelike immersive experience
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unlike anything we'd seen before. Leonardo's Last
Supper is a total break with tradition that shifts
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away from static, symmetrical Arrangements of holy
figures, and towards a psychological drama. A scene
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alive with emotional intensity and Brilliant
storytelling. This is not merely the story of a
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painting, and it is much more than a depiction
of Jesus Christ and his disciples final meal.
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It is also the story of an "idea", that gives us a
glimpse into the mind of a Renaissance genius who
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used science, mathematics, and theatre to explore
Universal themes of betrayal, faith, and Redemption.
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Leonardo da Vinci was an exceptional man, and
everyone who met him described him as a genius,
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And yet, he was now 42 years old, a middle-aged
man in an era when life expectancy was 40, and
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he still hadn't produced anything that would be
considered a "masterpiece" by his contemporaries.
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Many of his Works were unfinished or in private
collections. There were no great Public Works that
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people could see, no architectural Marvels, and
no distinguished altarpieces for Cathedrals.
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Nothing that could be considered worthy of his
potential. His career which began in Florence and
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later continued in Milan, was marked by several
major commissions that remained incomplete or
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were abandoned. His dream when he came to Milan
was to create War Machines for the Milanese Army, but
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despite several proposals nothing came to pass.
A project he had worked on since he arrived in Milan
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was a Monumental equestrian statue to be erected
in honor of Francesco Sforza, the founder of the
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Sforza dynasty. Leonardo was, as usual, ambitious.
It was going to be the largest equestrian
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statue ever built: 23 ft or 7 m High. Three times
life-size, rearing on its hind legs and cast in
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bronze, weighing 80 tons. An incredible, if not
impossible task, it would be one of the great
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wonders of the Renaissance and would need a miracle
to pull it off. By 1494 he had already worked on it
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for 12 years, made hundreds of studies, a full-size
clay model, and had worked out an Innovative method
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to cast the statue in a single pour of molten
bronze, a technique never attempted at this scale.
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But sadly, the statue would be yet another Leonardo
project that was never completed. Milan was facing
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increasing threats from French forces under King
Charles VIII and Ludovico had no choice but to redirect
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the bronze originally allocated for the Statue
to produce cannons and weapons for the city's
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defence. It was a major disappointment for the
great artist who dreamt not only of constructing
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war machines. but of Performing great feats of
Hydraulic Engineering, creating colossal statues,
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or topping off Milan's new cathedral with a great great Dome.
The very last thing Leonardo expected was to be asked to paint a wall.
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Leonardo had arrived in Milan twelve
years earlier in 1482 at the age of thirty.
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He came to work for the city's duke, Ludivico
Sforza, and he would stay for seventeen years,
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until the Duke's fall from power in 1499. Ludovico, like
many rulers at the time, was engaged in constant
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military conflict, and he believed that Leonardo
could help develop new weapons and war machines
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that would give his forces an advantage in battle.
But in a Renaissance Court, a talented individual
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like Leonardo, was expected to contribute to a wide
range of activities - from art and architecture, to
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engineering and entertainment. Courts were places
of grandeur and spectacle, and the ruler's ability
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to put on lavish entertainments was an important
sign of status. And so Leonardo was given the job
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of or organising the court entertainment. Something
that is rarely discussed or celebrated with
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Leonardo, is his theatrical work - and yet it is
vitally important when discussing his paintings.
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Leonardo, as the Duke's master of festivities
developed organised and directed productions
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for festival pageants, triumphal processions,
masques, jousting tournaments, and plays, for
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which he choreographed performances, engineered and
decorated stage sets and props, and even designed
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costumes. He collaborated with poets, playwrights,
and musicians, to bring these Grand Visions to life.
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Applying the same comprehensive observation skills,
knowledge of light, movement, and perspective to the
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stage as he did to the canvas. Many Renaissance
artists - and other historical painters - took on
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additional roles beyond their primary artistic
work, especially when serving in Royal or Noble
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courts. Michelangelo, like Leonardo, was also an
architect. Peter Paul Rubens served as a diplomat
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representing the Spanish Netherlands, Diego Velazquez
was the court Chamberlain, which involved the
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day-to-day running of the Palaces, making sure
the royal family had the correct bedding, hiring
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staff, and coordinating Royal Banquets. Gian Lorenzo
Bernini staged operas for the papal Court. Leonardo
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left us with more than 10,000 pages of notes and
drawings. We know was a polymath who covered a
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wide range of disciplines, and today this might
seem unusual. But for him and other Renaissance
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artists he would have seen them not as separate
specialities, but as deeply connected. We may
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consider the Mona Lisa as a "great work of art", but
he would have seen it equally as a work of science,
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geometry, and ideas. He strongly believed that the
study of one discipline enriched the understanding
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of the others. For Leonardo theatre was a natural
arena to blend art, mechanics, and design. He
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created elaborate rotating stage sets, mechanical
devices, and props that showcased his engineering
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brilliance. He designed mechanisms that allowed
characters to fly or appear to rise from the
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ground, adding a magical element to performances.
He developed devices that could stimulate natural
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phenomena such as thunderstorms and waves. He
understood not only how perspective worked on a
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three-dimensional stage but how it worked from
different vantage points. And all of this work,
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and all of these skills, informed what would be the
greatest theatrical staging of his career... the Last Supper.
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The Last Supper is in the "refectory" or dining
room of the convent of Santa Maria Delle Grazie
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in Milan, Italy. The refectory was long and narrow
35 M by 9 M or 116 ft by 29 ft and was lined with
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two long tables where the monks ate in silent
contemplation, lined up on the outside facing in.
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The only light was from the high up Windows on
the West Wall. Apart from a crucifix on one of the
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plain plaster walls, that they would pray to before
eating, there was no decoration which was standard
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for the Dominican order's austere lifestyle.
From around the middle of the 14th century,
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monasteries and convents started to commission
frescos on refectory walls, to be enjoyed while
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eating in Silence. The theme of these frescos
was usually food, which is not surprising given
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the location. Often it was the miracle of the
Loaves and Fishes, but more often than not it
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was the Last Supper, giving the monks and nuns the
chance to break bread in the presence of Jesus and
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his disciples doing the same. Leonardo painted the
Last Supper over three years on the north wall of
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the refectory, between 1495 and 1498. On the South
Wall directly opposite the Last Supper is a fresco.
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"The Crucifixion" by Giovanni Donato Montorfano.
It aligns thematically with the Last Supper, creating
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a powerful juxtaposition between the sacrifice
foretold in the meal, and its fulfilment on the
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cross. In fact, if we look at the crucifixion
from Christ's Viewpoint, he is looking directly
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at the continuation of the story AFTER the Last
Supper. He is looking at his own crucifixion the
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following day. Montorfano started working on his
crucifixion at the same time as Leonardo, but
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was probably finished within months, as he used
the traditional Fresco technique - unlike Leonardo.
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It is why Montorfano's work has not only survived for
over 500 years, but looks as if it was painted yesterday.
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What we are looking at when we look at
the Last Supper is a ghost of the original
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painting. The exact percentage of Leonardo's
original work in the Last Supper is
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difficult to determine, but some art historians
estimate that only about 20 to 25% of the
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original painting by Leonardo remains intact. The
majority of the painting has been heavily damaged,
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overly restored, or lost over the centuries, due to
Leonardo's experimental technique, environmental
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factors and poor preservation conditions. Usually
these kind of works were created using the Fresco
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technique, where designs were quickly painted onto
wet plaster - hence the term "Fresco" which means
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"fresh" in Italian. Then, as the plaster dries, the
pigments absorb into - and chemically bond with - the
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wall surface, creating a highly durable finish that
can last for centuries without restoration, under
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proper conditions. The disadvantage is that artists
must work extremely quickly while the plaster is
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still wet, typically completing sections within a
single day. This limits the amount of details an
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artist can create Within each session. Corrections
or changes are difficult to make after the plaster
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has dried. Another disadvantage is that there
were certain colours you couldn't use because
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the plaster contained lime, and some pigments like
ultramarine, azurite, and others couldn't withstand
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the alkalinity. Leonardo's teacher in Florence
Verrochio, was a sculptor, painter and Goldsmith - but he
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wasn't a frescoist. His painting technique was limited
to working with tempera on wooden panels, and
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that's what Leonardo learned as his pupil. Tempera
is a fast drying paint medium, made by mixing
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pigments with a water soluble binder, typically egg
yolk, as discussed in my Botticelli video. Leonardo was
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never known for his speed, which is why the Last
Supper took three years. The Fresco technique was
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too limiting for his detailed and subtle style and
his slow thoughtful approach. It did not allow for
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the precise blending and layering of colours
or Leonardo's signature interplay of light and
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shadow (or Chiaroscuro), so he used an experimental
technique for the Last Supper, combining tempera
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and oil paints on a dry plaster surface. In effect,
Leonardo tried to do an oil painting on the wall,
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and this was a big mistake. Because the dry plaster
did not absorb the paint as well as wet plaster
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would in true Fresco. It didn't help that the wall
surface was vulnerable to environmental factors
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such as humidity and temperature changes from the
kitchen behind the wall. If it was a "true Fresco"
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it would have allowed water to exit through the
wall, but as it was, it couldn't breathe and so the
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paint began to flake off. Within just 20 years
the Last Supper began to badly fade, requiring
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extensive conservation efforts over the centuries.
Fortunately for us, several canvas reproductions
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of the Last Supper were created during Leonardo da
Vinci's Lifetime by his pupils and contemporaries.
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These versions play an important role in
helping us understand Leonardo's original
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design and are vital tools for art historians and
conservationists. They capture details colours and
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elements of the composition that have disappeared
from the original work over time. This is known as
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the Gianpetrino copy, believed to have been
painted around 1515 by one of his pupils for
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the duke's eldest son. While it is missing the
top third, the this near life-size copy shows
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details no longer visible in
Leonardo's work as we shall see.
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Leonardo's in-depth exploration of Optics gave him a thorough
understanding of perspective. The rediscovery of a mathematical
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system for representing three-dimensional
objects and space on a two-dimensional
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surface, had revolutionised Italian art in the 15th
century, and Leonardo quickly became a master of it.
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We should start with Leonardo's famous use of
single point perspective in the Last Supper, which
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converges precisely at Christ right Temple. And the
centrality of Christ is important as a technical
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device, a psychological one, and as a liturgical focus
that will be perpetuated in the Christian Mass.
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To achieve this, Leonardo first painted a base coat
of lead white, then he hammered a nail into the
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wall, attached a piece of string to the nail and
made marks where the lines extended, to be used
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as a guide when planning the painting. In fact, we
can still see the mark where Leonardo hammered the
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nail into the wall. Everything is designed to make
you look at Christ, who anchors the scene. If we
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take the cornice above Christ - the only curved line
in the architecture - we can draw a circle, which
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turns out to be the dead centre of the painting,
and encircles Christ perfectly. He is the centre
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of everything. It is a clear, spiritual message
conveyed through mathematics. Due to its enormous
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size, it will be seen differently from different
vantage points in the refectory. Leonardo places
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the vanishing point 15 ft or 4.5 m above the floor
of the refectory, which clearly aligns with the
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perspective lines of the dining room, and extends
the frame out into the refectory as if Jesus and
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his disciples are in the room dining with the
monks. This was especially impactful in the
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relatively narrow dining hall, where the illusion
of Extended space would have been very striking.
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How you saw the perspective of the imagined
room, also depended on which door you entered.
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It works from this Viewpoint too. It's clearer if
we look at this pre-World War II photo with the
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old wall markings, which no longer exist as the
wall was destroyed during a bombing raid. You can
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see how the perspective of the painting from here
also extends seamlessly into the real room. These
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effects are designed to make the Last Supper an
extension of the Monk's dining room, blurring the
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boundary between art and reality. Leonardo uses
tricks as well. As a solution to the challenge
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of creating a three-dimensional space on a flat
surface, the table is far too narrow to be able to
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have 13 people seated around it eating a meal, and
it's far too long for the room, but it just works
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visually as a separation between the Earthly world, the
refectory, and the Heavenly one, Christ and his disciples.
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Leonardo was not a very religious man, and yet
would produce one of the most significant
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representations of the Last Supper of Jesus
and the 12 Apostles. We should start with the
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Bible story, to see what is represented here.
The Last Supper appears in all four gospels
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of the Bible: Matthew, Mark, Luke, and John. In more
or less the same order of events. Leonardo shows
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the moment of Christ's announcement that one of
the disciples is a traitor: "Truly I say to you
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one of you will betray me". Setting into motion
events that will lead to the crucifixion.
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But Leonardo also creates a liturgical message, with
Christ reaching towards the Bread and Wine, about
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to declare that the bread represents his
flesh, and the wine his blood. And in so doing,
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establishing the institution of the Eucharist,
the Christian celebration of the sacrifice of
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the body of Christ. The Betrayal of Christ by
one of his disciples, is only the most obvious
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part of this painting. The Genius of Leonardo is
that he in fact shows not only a moment in the
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narrative, nor just a liturgical message, but he
also interweaves so much more into the story.
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The earliest Last Supper, goes back to the
6th century, and Leonardo had seen many
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interpretations of that story back in Florence.
Most of those depictions follow the gospel of
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St John, which is the only Gospel of the four that
mentions John on the bosom of Christ, which will
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become a major part of the iconography for Last
Supper depictions for centuries.... until Leonardo.
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It is a difficult scene to get right, to show thirteen
characters around a table in a cohesive manner.
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Often they are squashed in together in order
to fit them all in, making it difficult to see
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them as individuals. It was always obvious who
Christ was, and John next to him, and then Judas
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was easy to spot among the 12 disciples as he
was the only one without a Halo. But the other
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disciples were sometimes interchangeable, lacking
in emotion and personality. This last supper from
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Florence created 50 years before Leonardo began
his, has a wonderful sense of three-dimensional
00:19:28
space, but lacks any sense of drama. The apostles
look extremely relaxed, and one of them is even
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reading a book! Other representations followed
a static regimented arrangement with Christ
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once again blocked in, and the apostles lined
up one by one like chess pieces, separated and
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lacking individual emotional expressions. Leonardo
decided to strip the scene back by setting it in
00:19:53
a fairly austere room, in keeping with Dominican
Aesthetics, and making it a story of human drama.
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Elevating it from a religious narrative to a
psychological study of human beings grappling
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with fear, confusion, guilt, and betrayal. He is not
creating "drama for drama's sake". In the Bible, it
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IS a very dramatic scene. Thirteen friends sit down to a
meal in an occupied City, whose guards are waiting
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to arrest and execute their charismatic leader. One
of their group is working with the Enemy to betray
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their friend, about to set in motion a devastating
series of events. It is a scene charged with the
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knowledge of what is to come. If we compare these
two last suppers which are only 20 years apart, we
00:20:41
can see just how Leonardo injects the scene with
the appropriate dramatic flair it deserves.
00:20:48
In this early sketch, the artist is trying to work out
the logistics, but is still considering a standard
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layout with Judas clearly on the other side of
the table, but in the end he rejected the usual
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formula, and created something new. He did this by
applying both mathematical ideas and theatrical
00:21:06
knowledge, to a clear well organised structure.
He first applied perspective, and then divided
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the apostles into four groups of three, to create a
harmonious and uncluttered base. Their overlapping
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forms also add spatial planes, to give more depth
to the painting. This clear structure allowed him
00:21:25
to add Dynamic interaction to the scene, portraying
the apostles reacting emotionally and physically
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to Christ's announcement of betrayal. In a painting
with half of the characters obscured behind a
00:21:38
large table, faces and hand gestures is all we have.
It became a perfect embodiment of what Leonardo
00:21:46
called "movement of the soul", in other words how
external manifestations of the human body such
00:21:52
as facial expressions, gestures, and posture, reflect
internal emotions and psychological states.
00:22:03
How do we know who is who in this painting?
Usually Saints are recognised by their
00:22:08
distinctive "attributes', a symbol of some kind.
For example St Peter holds the keys to heaven.
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Or sometimes it is their eventual fate, like with
St Sebastian who was killed with Arrows by the
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Romans, so he'll be shown with arrows - sometimes
a lot of arrows. St Catherine of Alexandria is
00:22:29
a popular subject, and she'll be shown with
a wheel, as she was tortured on a wheel.
00:22:35
But Leonardo is not interested in all that, and
the only signifier here is Judas holding the
00:22:41
bag of coins. So how do we know which Saint
is which? We are very lucky in that in 1807
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in a small Church in Switzerland, a 16th century
Fresco was found. A copy almost certainly done
00:22:54
by someone who knew Leonardo or his Circle.
And conveniently all 13 names were painted underneath!
00:23:05
The first thing we notice that
differentiates Leonardo's version from
00:23:08
others is the lack of halos. Leonardo's unusual and
unprecedented decision to emit halos in the Last
00:23:15
Supper, reflects his Innovative approach to Art
and storytelling. By removing traditional markers
00:23:21
of divinity such as Halos, Leonardo created a
scene that was realistic and grounded in human
00:23:28
emotion, emphasising the humanity of Christ
and the apostles. Stripped of their religious
00:23:35
signifiers, each figure within the four groups
is fully fleshed out and uniquely characterised,
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creating a sense of narrative and movement that
was unprecedented in earlier works on the theme.
00:23:46
The goal was to focus on the faces and the
reactions. We can read the four groups of
00:23:52
three, from left to right - not as a snapshot but
as "ripples of reactions" emanating from Christ's
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announcement. Starting from the group of three
to the left who are James the minor, Andrew, and
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Bartholomew, all of whom are reacting to what
Christ has just said - and exclaiming, as it says
00:24:11
in the Bible: "Lord is it I?", much of their emotion
is understood by their expressive hands, and of
00:24:18
course Leonardo comes from a country where
hand gestures are an intrinsic part of its
00:24:24
culture. He devoted countless hours to studying
the structure and movement of hands in preparation.
00:24:31
Understanding their muscles, joints, and Bones. He
did numerous life drawings, of which only around
00:24:36
20 to 30 sketches related to The Last Supper
have survived. The sketch he did of the hands
00:24:42
of St John, has his hands interlaced, which Leonardo
noted indicated "sorrow", and it is a clear reference
00:24:49
to other depictions of St John, including in
Montorfano's crucifixion on the opposite wall.
00:24:55
By referencing what people know already - using
familiar iconography - he is freeing himself up to
00:25:01
experiment. The next group along are pivotal: Judas,
Peter, and John. Peter is clutching the knife and
00:25:10
asking John: "Who is it of whom he speaks?", and here
he is ready for action. The knife in Peter's hand
00:25:17
alludes to the gospel account of his impulsive
act later in the Garden of Gethsemane, where he
00:25:22
drew a sword to defend Jesus being arrested
and cut off the ear of the high priest slave.
00:25:28
This act demonstrates Peter's loyalty but also
his impetuous and aggressive nature, captured
00:25:34
perfectly by Leonardo. The position of the knife
is interesting too, as it's pointing to Bartholomew,
00:25:41
who later will be skinned alive by barbarians, and
is often shown holding a knife, the instrument of
00:25:47
his torture, as well as his flayed skin. Judas in
this scene is nearly always on the other side of
00:25:53
the table from the rest of the group, to signify
his betrayal and separation from other apostles.
00:25:59
An obvious villain. But by including Judas
amongst the others, Leonardo underscored his
00:26:04
humanity, showing that betrayal comes not from an
outsider but from within the close circle of Christ's
00:26:09
followers, intensifying the drama. This nuanced
reading of Judas and the complexities of moral
00:26:16
choices, is a precursor of something we will see
later with Caravaggio. Leonardo's depiction reflects a
00:26:23
shift in theological focus, artistic styles, and
cultural attitudes towards Judas's role in the
00:26:29
Narrative. Rather than having his position separate
from the group, it is Judas's posture and demeanour
00:26:35
that sets him apart in Leonardo's version.
He leans back, clutching a small bag containing
00:26:41
the 30 pieces of silver he received for his
betrayal, and his face is the only one in the
00:26:47
group turning away - literally and figuratively from
the light - which comes from the left, casting his
00:26:53
face in Shadows to convey guilt and secrecy. This
subtle differentiation achieves the effects of
00:27:00
isolation without physically separating him from
the group. Judas's neck turned towards us is a
00:27:07
reminder that he will hang himself, full of shame
and remorse. Leonardo's handling of light and color
00:27:13
is of course masterful. He uses light in the same
way he uses perspective: To make it look as though
00:27:19
the two dining rooms were one and the same.
The way light is painted in the last supper, and the
00:27:24
direction it is coming from, mimics how light naturally
entered through the real Windows of the refectory.
00:27:31
The shadows and highlights on the figures
correspond to the direction of light in the
00:27:35
actual room. One example is Judas's left arm. As it
reaches towards the bowl his hand is illuminated
00:27:42
and his sleeve catches the light, and the change
of shade reflects this. All of this enhances the
00:27:48
realism and coherence of the scene, connecting the
monk's dining experience, with a sacred narrative.
00:27:55
Salt appears many times in the Bible, both in the
Old and New Testament, and in the painting we see
00:28:01
that as Judas recoils he knocks over a salt cellar,
a detail which is lost in the original, but we can
00:28:07
see in the copy. Spilled salt was often associated
with bad luck, betrayal, or Misfortune, which aligns
00:28:14
with Judas's role as the betrayer of Christ. It is
still considered a bad omen in many countries,
00:28:21
but it is a myth that the tradition came from
this painting. Leonardo's painting however almost
00:28:26
certainly popularised the superstition. John,
Christ favourite, is traditionally thought to be the
00:28:32
youngest of the Apostles. This is a fourth Century
portrayal of him, shown as always without a beard
00:28:38
to denote his youth. He is often shown with soft,
delicate features, that were culturally associated
00:28:44
with youth - and by extension, femininity. During the
Renaissance, many artists stylised male and female
00:28:51
figures with similar androgynous characteristics,
as a way to highlight idealised Beauty.
00:28:57
As discussed, in most of the previous last suppers
John is depicted resting his head on the saviour's
00:29:03
chest, as written in the gospel of St John. And to
emphasise his special status as Christ's favourite
00:29:09
disciple. Leonardo changes that, and instead he
is shown almost like a mirror image of Christ,
00:29:15
but leaning away from him towards Peter, who from
the next part of the story is whispering in John's
00:29:21
ear: "Who is it of whom he speaks?", causing Judas to
recoil. The artist wanted Christ to be separate,
00:29:28
and the centre of the painting to be clearly
demarcated. This composition adds tension by
00:29:33
further isolating Christ, and if John was leaning
towards him it would have weakened the composition.
00:29:40
Christ is the spiritual heart of the scene, alone
and calm, as the emotional turmoil swarms around him.
00:29:46
This makes it a much more powerful message,
in a clear visual, rather than how he is often
00:29:52
portrayed, crammed in with the others. He has just
spoken the words of betrayal. His mouth is still
00:29:58
slightly open, and he bows his head in silence. He
is calm, and his hands are in a familiar pose that
00:30:05
foreshadows his wounds on the cross. The Hands
of Christ are crucial to how this painting is
00:30:11
read. They form an equilateral triangle, something I
have talked about before, and Leonardo uses it here
00:30:17
to draw our eyes towards the focal point of the
painting. The Triangle, an inherently stable shape,
00:30:24
gives a sense of order and balance to the central
figure, in contrast with the other gesticulating
00:30:29
characters. His left hand reaches out for the bread,
drawing our focus along the diagonal of his left
00:30:36
arm and back towards his downturned gaze looking
towards the bread. Our eyes go exactly where
00:30:43
Leonardo wants them to go. This little vignette
with the bread and wine is aimed at the Dominican
00:30:48
Friars, who understood it as a celebration of the
Eucharist. In a wonderful theatrical touch, the hand
00:30:54
was one of the first things the monks would have
noticed as they came in through their appointed
00:30:59
door to dine, seeing Christ as if he is reaching
out to them. In its original state it would have
00:31:05
been more obvious, as the aforementioned light
which hit Judas's robe, also hit the hand of
00:31:11
Christ as he reaches out. As there are no Halos
in this painting, Leonardo instead uses light and
00:31:17
composition to emphasise Christ Divinity, with the
natural light from the three Windows behind him.
00:31:24
If you squint, you will notice it is the brightest
part of the painting and contrasts with the darker
00:31:29
tones of the Interior, creating a stark visual
separation between the Earthly and divine Realms.
00:31:36
Leonardo links Christ metaphorically to the light,
symbolising divinity, purity, and salvation. Then
00:31:43
there is the pediment, highlighting his spiritual
importance without resorting to overt symbolism.
00:31:49
In the biblical story, after Christ's announcement, each
of the disciples asks "Lord is it I?" - Philip can be seen
00:31:57
pointing to himself in the painting. Jesus responds by saying:
"He that dippeth his hand with me in the dish, shall betray me".
00:32:05
And the painting depicts just two people
reaching for things at the table. Jesus reaches for
00:32:11
the wine, and Judas reaches for the bread. The group
to the right of Jesus is James the Greater, Thomas,
00:32:18
and Phillip. The intense looking Thomas is raising
his index finger. It is a gesture we have seen
00:32:24
in other Leonardo paintings, and it could be to
indicate Christ's Heavenly Authority. But is also a
00:32:30
foreshadowing of Thomas's later role in The Gospel
narrative where he doubts Christ's Resurrection
00:32:36
until he sees and touches the wounds, aligning
with his biblical Persona as "Doubting Thomas".
00:32:43
There is also an argument, that this is possibly
a self-portrait of Leonardo - and the artist known
00:32:48
cynicism of Faith, combined with a later portrait
of him by Raphael, supports this "possibility".
00:32:55
The final group, shows Matthew, Simon, and Thaddeus. Having
already digested the declaration, they are now
00:33:02
having an intense discussion about what Christ has
just said. thaddeus and Matthew seem to be gesturing
00:33:08
down towards Judas at the other end of the table,
and both are turning to Simon for advice, whose
00:33:14
calmness suggests a figure of stability and reason
within the group. Simon at one end, and Bartholomew
00:33:21
at the other, seem to bookend the scene, while at
the same time contain the energy and emotion that
00:33:27
is emanating from the centre of the composition.
Leonardo's knowledge of theatre, his technical
00:33:33
mastery, and his meticulous observation of human
behaviour, inform every aspect of the painting.
00:33:38
From the expressive gestures of the figures to
the architectural Precision that frames the
00:33:44
scene like a proscenium arch, it is a remarkable
convergence of art, theology, storytelling, and theatricality.
00:33:57
In 1499, the French army led
by Louis 12th invaded Milan,
00:34:02
overthrowing Ludovico Sforza, who had been
Leonardo's primary Patron now for 16 years.
00:34:08
Throughout its history, The Last Supper
has faced numerous threats. Leonardo's
00:34:13
experimental painting technique led to rapid
deterioration, shortly after its completion,
00:34:19
and in 1652, thinking the mural was ruined, the
monks of the monastery decided to cut a doorway
00:34:25
through the wall to create direct access
between the the kitchen and the refectory,
00:34:29
destroying the lower central portion of the
mural which included the feet of Christ and
00:34:34
part of the table. Restoration attempts that
began in the 18th century, often had mixed
00:34:39
results. Remarkably, the mural survived a World
War II bombing thanks to protective reinforcements
00:34:48
around the refectory wall. In the 20th century,
a painstaking restoration project aimed to take
00:34:54
the painting back to its original, Spanning more
than two decades, the process sparked debate, with
00:35:00
some criticising the extent of intervention.
Despite the controversies, restoration has
00:35:06
allowed contemporary audiences to rediscover
the work, offering at least a partial insight
00:35:12
into the brilliance of Leonardo's original
masterpiece. The Last Supper, invites us to
00:35:17
pause, observe, and connect with the humanity
in each of the figures, and it transcends its
00:35:23
religious context, to offer a lens through
which we can examine the complexity of
00:35:27
human emotions. Leonardo, ever the Visionary,
had turned a routine commission into one of
00:35:34
the greatest artistic achievements of all time.
In 1500, Leonardo eventually returned to Florence
00:35:42
at the age of 48, where he re-established
himself as an artist and an intellectual.
00:35:48
Three years later he was given a small commission.
A portrait of the young wife of a Florentine merchant.
00:35:55
Although the portrait was eventually
completed... it would never be delivered.
