Leonardo da Vinci's the The Last Suppe

Leonardo da Vinci's large mural of The Last Supper is one of the most familiar images in Western art, even though it has deteriorated to the point where its original magnificence can only be guessed at. The mural has largely been known through its repainted versions, or through touched-up copies that attempt to give some idea of what the original might have looked like. But, the various versions of the picture do little to convey how revolutionary Leonardo's whole conception was. At Milan, Leonardo created a work that treated a familiar subject, but was a complete departure from the usual in terms of composition, selection of a Biblical text, iconography, use of perspective, and, unfortunately, fresco technique.

Leonardo arrived in Milan in the early 1480s, and made one of the longest stays of his career there--nearly twenty years. He went to Milan to work for the controversial Sforza family, dukes of Milan, in a number of different capacities: designer, engineer, painter, sculptor, and producer of theatrical entertainments and spectacles. The Last Supper was his most important painting commission in that city. The mural, which measures 13'10" x 29'7.5", was painted in the refectory of the ducal church of Santa Maria della Grazie in the years 1495-1498.

Leonardo was an inventor and an innovator, always looking for a better way to do things. In addition, he was, of course, one of the most influential painters of the High Renaissance. The key to understanding the r

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t his works. There are even mentions in the literature of the duke trying to get him to hurry with this particular commission (Pedretti 75). In addition, Leonardo's primary concern in painting was the creation of a uniform, overall effect--a vital element of his creation of a harmonious ideal. But, fresco painting had to be done in clumsy stages. The wet plaster had to be applied only to the section the painter would be able to finish in one sitting. The paint was applied to, and absorbed by, the wet plaster, and creating smooth, invisible joins between sections was a difficult problem. But for Leonardo, who wanted carefully controlled tone and light to unify his composition, it was nearly impossible. Therefore, he attempted to produce a new type of fresco, and painted directly on the dry plaster with a special oil tempera which, he was convinced, would meet the special needs of painting on plaster. But, by 1517, humidity and changing temperatures began to make the paint peel, and, only twenty years later, Giorgio Vasari "found it almost indecipherable" (Hartt 399). If the painting had retained as much of its original luminous surface as Leonardo's oils on canvas and wood have done, this would be one of the greatest monu

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