LAST SUPPER

The Last Supper by Leonardo Da Vinci

The Renaissance , which took place in the fifteenth century , was an important time for artist . For many years , art had not played a significant role in the lives of individuals . Instead they had worked hard and worshiped a god that they felt was out to destroy them . Then came the Renaissance when art was reborn and wisdom was encouraged Artist began to experiment with new techniques and materials . Many of the creative people of the day looked at their subjects in a different way . They

wanted them to look realistic instead of the stiff figures in earlier works . Leonardo Da Vinci , a true Renaissance man , was no exception . The Last Supper was one of his most famous works and embodied the characteristics of the Italian Renaissance

chiaroscuro , or the use of light and dark to create depth

Duke Ludovico Sforza

was a patron of Da Vinci . He commissioned him to paint the mural of The Last Supper on the wall of his dining hall . He accepted the commission and began his work in fourteen ninety-five . As was true to Da Vinci 's nature , he wanted to experiment with new materials . He covered the wall with a sealant , gesso , and then painted the mural with tempura paint . Like many experiments , this one proved to be unsuccessful . While the painting was a masterpiece , it did not hold up well and it was not long after he finished in fourteen ninety-eight that the painting was already showing signs of deterioration . The mural has been restored many times over the centuries and has now recently been restored to what is hoped to be an accurate one . However , it was a difficult task since not all of the ones who tried to restore it had the same objective as leaving in its original form

The painting itself is of the Passover that Jesus spent with his twelve disciples just before his arrest and crucifixion , later known as The Last Supper . Religious subjects were quite popular in Italian society because Italy was the center of the Roman Catholic Church . In this painting Jesus has just informed his disciples that one of them would betray him . This shocked and confused his disciples because they wondered how one of the twelve could go against the man they had given up everything for , who was the one who would commit such a vile act , and would the culprit be them . The look of surprise and disdain is on their faces

Jesus is placed at the center of the painting and then he is flanked on each side by six of the disciples . This creates a balance to the stark room , which is the setting of the last meal that Jesus would share with his original twelve disciples . Judas is just to the left of Jesus and is holding his finger in a way that would suggest he is being challenged . The others are discussing the situation amongst themselves . The disciple to the...