The Last Supper painting is the work of a genius whose work has been valued so much that it has been restored many times over the centuries. The Last Supper painting was designed by Leonardo da Vinci during the Renaissance which lasted from 1495-1498, at Santa Maria delle Grazie. Leonardo was a genius because he wanted to use a different style. When he painted the Last Supper, he used the method of fresco. This method is when the artist creates the painting on a wet surface. He wanted to try something new but it began to decay after few years. For example, “Leonardo, always the inventor, tried using new materials for the Last Supper. Instead of using tempera on wet plaster (the preferred method of fresco painting, and one which had worked successfully for centuries); he thought he'd give using dry plaster a whirl. His experiment resulted in a more varied palette, which was his intent” (Shelley Esaak). Over time the Last Supper painting was ruined, but people began to restore it as best as they could although it did not look exactly like its original one. Moreover “Begun in 1977 and comprising more than 12,000 hours of structural work and 38,000 hours of work on the painting itself, this effort has resulted in an image where approximately 42.5% of the surface is Leonardo’s work, 17.5% is lost, and the remaining 40% are the additions of previous restorers” (George Bull). During this time of Renaissance, there were wars and different conflicts that occurred. They bombed Santa Maria delle Grazie which was the church that Leonardo had painted on. Due to the high quality of the painting and its value, it was restored over time. The first restoration did not take people a long time to paint but the last restoration took them a long time and a lot of money.
"Leonardo rejected this and had Jesus in the midst of the Apostles; he also created four groups of three figures on either side of Christ" |
Again the Last Supper painting is the work of a genius because it was unique from other related works. “If this work is compared with others artists such as Castagno, the differences are obvious. In the classical interpretation, Judas is depicted alone whereas the other Apostles and Jesus are on the other side of the table sitting beside each other. Leonardo rejected this and had Jesus in the midst of the Apostles; he also created four groups of three figures on either side of Christ" (Church and Dominican Convent of Santa Maria delle Grazie). The way Leonardo organized his painting was very unique. The painting shows how the disciples were in 2 groups of 4 of 3 figures which no other artists mention this part. The number “3” is an important number in the Bible; it is a symbol of the trinity. In the image of Castagno, Jesus is sitting on the opposite side while he's sitting on the same side as the disciples in da Vinci's painting. In addition "Leonardo rendered a verdant landscape beyond the windows. Often interpreted as paradise, it has been suggested that this heavenly sanctuary can only be reached through Christ..... Paradoxically, Leonardo’s emphasis on spirituality results in a painting that is more naturalistic than Castagno’s" (George Bull). The paintings of Leonardo and Castagno have many differences. When you look at the background of the walls of the Last Supper of Leonardo, it has brighter colors that represent a paradise, but when you look at Castagno’s painting, he used dark colors instead. In this sense, the painting of Leonardo was more like an event happening in a real life or bases on naturalism.
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