Last Supper Leonardo Da Vinci\'s

Last Supper

LEONARDO DA VINCI'S the LAST SUPPER:

AN ARTISTIC ANALYSIS

Between 1495 and 1498, Leonardo da Vinci (1452 to 1519), the epitome of the artist-genius as well as the "Universal Man" of the Renaissance Period, painted the Last Supper for the refectory of the Church of Santa Maria delle Grazie in Milan, Italy, which today stands as the most formal and emotionally-charged rendering out of all of his brilliant and highly-impressive artistic masterpieces. The Last Supper (oil tempera mixture and approximately 15 x 29 feet) exemplifies the first great figure composition of the High Renaissance and stands as the definitive interpretation of themes related to the Holy Bible, especially the story of Jesus Christ and his disciples as told in the New Testament. Since its completion in 1498, the Last Supper has come under the discerning eyes of numerous art scholars and critics and even today, it continues to inspire awe and wonder, thus making it truly deserving to be recognized as one of the greatest works of Western art ever conceived in the mind of man.

Before commencing on an artistic analysis of this painting, David Alan Brown, commenting in Leonardo's Last Supper: The Restoration, suggests that we should listen to the words of Matteo Bandello who frequently witnessed Leonardo engaged in painting the Last Supper in the refectory of the monastery in which Matteo's uncle served as prior. As Bandello relates, Leonardo "would often come to the convent at early dawn...Hastily mounting the scaffold, he worked diligently until the shades of the evening compelled him to cease. At other times, he would remain three or four days without touching his picture (and) with folded arms, criticized his figures... (87).

These observations clearly indicate that Leonardo da Vinci was not by temperament a fresco painter, for he was very often spontaneous in his execution of a painting and regularly depended upon inspiration after long periods of contemplation, two traits which were artistic poison for a true fresco painter during the High Renaissance. As Vito Zani points out, true fresco painting "is an orderly process with the activities of every day reserved for a single section that had been established earlier" (214). Since fresco painting involves pigment mixed with water and then applied to wet plaster, both must dry together and fuse permanently which is something Leonardo failed to do because of his penchant for an oil mixture which allowed him to "attain atmospheric effects and veiled, sensuous surfaces" with other works like the Mona Lisa (Zani, 215).

As an artistic rendering, Leonardo's the Last Supper displays an iconography unlike anything else in Western art. In biblical terms, the Last Supper was a rather emotional occasion, due to the apostles being shocked to hear Jesus tell them that one of them would betray him to the Roman authorities. For Leonardo, this emotionally-charged scenario presented him with the opportunity to portray in art "an explosive and dramatic scene and to delve more deeply than he had ever done before into the psychological makeup of his various characters" (Heydenreich, 87). This scenario also stands as a symbolic revelation wherein Jesus tells his disciples that bread symbolizes his physical body and wine symbolizes his blood, both being metaphors which illuminate Jesus' sacrifice of the cross and the remission of the sins of human beings. This also establishes the sacrament of the Eucharist through which salvation can be achieved by mortal man.

In terms of iconography, Jesus Christ is seen extending his left arm as his left hand reaches for a small loaf of bread upon which he glances with much solemnity. His right hand reaches at the same time towards a bowl and glass holding some wine. With this, Leonardo "links together several important aspects of the painting, being drama and religious ritual, betrayal, sacrifice and salvation" (Zani, 156). Strange as it may seem, this emblematic lesson in religious ritual appears to be unrecognized by the apostles seated at both ends of the table and on either side of Jesus, for they seem to be only reacting to the news that one of them, namely Judas Iscariot, will betray him, thus leading to his crucifixion at the hands of Pontius Pilate.

In addition, the space between Jesus and his disciples on either side of his body tends to isolate him from the others at the table, while Jesus' serene, if not almost expressionless face, sets him firmly apart from his disciples as a divine being. Notice also the rectangular window behind Jesus' head and upper torso which symbolically "endows his presence at the supper table with a spiritual and cosmic essence, full of grace, dignity and divinity as the Son of God" (Ladwein, 184). Immediately above this window, one can see a curved pediment (the only curve in the entire architectural framework of the painting) which arches above the head of Jesus and represents not only a halo but also as the focal point for all perspective lines in the composition.

Thus, Leonardo has created a sort of psychological manifesto with the Last Supper. The quite agitated disciples (twelve in total with what appears to be Mary Magdalene immediately to the right of Jesus) registers an entire range of human emotions and responses, such as fear, doubt, protestation, rage and even love, all represented by "four groups of three, united among and within themselves by their various hand gestures and postures," either seated at the table or standing erect behind it (Heydenreich, 198). Also, Leonardo has apparently sacrificed traditional iconography for pictorial and dramatic consistency by placing Judas Iscariot on the same side of the table as Jesus and the other apostles. With his face in dark shadows, we can see Judas clutching what seems to be a money bag in his right hand (the thirty pieces of silver paid to Judas by the Roman authorities) and his left hand reaches forward to fulfill Jesus' declaration "Behold! The hand of him that betrayeth me is with me on the table" (Heydenreich, 199).

Also, the two apostles at either end of the supper table which is covered with some kind of woven tablecloth are much more quiet and reserved than the others, an indication that these two apostles tend to serve as bookends for all of the action occurring at the table which is more intense the closer one moves toward the figure of Jesus. According to Vito Zani, numerous preparatory studies done by Leonardo a short time before commencing to paint the Last Supper indicates that he "thought of each figure as bearing a particular kind of emotion," and much like a skilled stage director, Leonardo "carefully read the gospels and then meticulously assigned his actors to their individual roles" in this High Renaissance example of a passion play (231). Thus, Leonardo can be credited with creating the rhetoric of classical art which helped to direct and inspire entire generations of painters and sculptors up until the middle years of the 19th century when the Expressionistic style came into vogue.

With the able assistance of David Alan Brown, it is safe to assume that the apostle with the raised index finger is Thomas (the doubting Thomas), while the figure with his hands clutched to his chest is often seen as being Bartholomew. The seated apostle with outstretched arms directly to the left of Jesus could be James the Greater, due to "sufficient biblical evidence for seating James the Greater in the immediate vicinity of Jesus and within the intimate company of Peter and John" (Brown, 236). Quite probably, to the immediate right of Jesus we find John who along with James "are both given seats of honor beside Jesus Christ" (Brown, 237). For some art scholars and critics, this raises a very important question -- did Leonardo consciously place James and John in such positions as a way of reflecting a certain passage in the Book of Matthews? Brown thinks this is so because the mother of James and John asked Jesus to allow her sons to sit besides him in Paradise with "one on thy right hand and the other on thy left in thy kingdom" (Brown, 238).