Da Vinci's "The Last Supper" painting

The Last Supper by Leonardo da Vinci (Cenacolo Viniciano) is one of the most famous paintings in the world. The original mural was painted between 1495 and 1497. Visitors can now see the authentic painting da Vinci painted in the dining room of the Convent of Santa Maria delle Grazie.

The Last Supper is a giant painting measuring 640 cm x 880 cm. Leonardo da Vinci used heat and oil on plaster, instead of the most frequent technique of the time: fresco.

In the late fifteenth century, the Dominicans were fortunate enough to have two of the greatest artists of the era decorate their temples thanks to Ludovico Sforza, Duke of Milan. Sforza was Leonardo's patron and he wanted to convert the monastery into a mausoleum for his family, thus entrusting the Last Supper. However, Ludovico managed to make his wish come true. He was handed over to France by the Swiss and died in prison.

Leonardo da Vinci investigated the subject relentlessly and created many sketches before painting the scene. Those who witnessed the artist working on his painting said that he behaved extremely strangely during the entire process. Sometimes he would start painting at dawn and wouldn't even stop for lunch and at other times he would wander the streets looking for people to inspire him, or he just stared at his work in bewilderment.

Interestingly, da Vinci wasn't paid for this work of art, and even after devoting three years of his life to it, he doesn't seem to want to be paid either.

The painting suffered from the passage of time as it was painted on dry plaster. The work began to explode as soon as the painting was completed. During the eighteenth and nineteenth centuries, there were several failed attempts at restoration.

During the Napoleonic Wars, the army would use the wall for target practice, and in 1943 the roof of the building was bombed leaving the painting outdoors for several years.

After years of restoration, The Supper has finally regained some of its original beauty and is open to the public.

Interesting facts about the picture

Although the subject has been rendered thousands of times by different artists, Leonardo captured one of the most important parts of the dinner when Jesus announced that one of his apostles would betray him. . The painting is so powerful and real that it shows the astonishment, horror and surprise of his 12 disciples.

Although da Vinci named all of the apostles in his sketches, some figures are not very clear. For example, the figure next to Jesus looks so feminine that many experts believe it is Mary Magdalene, rather than the apostle John.

This idea is also embodied in Dan Brown's book, The Da Vinci Code, where he identifies the person on Jesus' right as Mary Magdalene and gives the painting an esoteric meaning. The film The Da Vinci Code was released in 2006 starring Tom Hanks and Audrey Tautou based on the novel by Dan Brown.

Business hours:

Tuesday to Friday: 8:15am to 7pm

Monday: closed

Fare

Adults: €12 (US$13)

Young people (ages 18 to 25): €7 (US$7.6)

EU citizens (under 18 and over 65) 2€ (US$2.2)

Last Supper €43