Last Supper, one of Leonardo's most famous works, has been created in
1497-1498. Ludovico il Moro has ordered it in 1495, 500 years ago. Maybe people don't know
that today the anniversary is greatly celebrated; this year, after a long period of works,
the main part of the true Last Supper is shown to the public. The explanation of
that ironical definition of "Last Supper" will be given later on.
Here is a description of Leonardo's great work with a particular attention to the new
form. (From Anteprima Leonardo: commentary of Prof. Federico
Zeri and the executor of the restoration.)
During the night before the Assumption Day of 1943 the difficult story of the Last
Supper began: a bomb fell on the cloister next to the refectory destroing the left part of the room, leaving the wall of the Last
Supper under the power of weather and men. The masterwork endured many other
offencies: for example, a door has been made in the centre of the wall with the Last
Supper to connect the pantry to the refectory without taking care about Leonardo's
work.
Let's see now the new Last Supper: the previous one was only an ensemble of
restorations and not-allowed additions which hid the wonderful structure of that work.
First of all the double lighting-system has been
changed: a light behind Christ, behind the three large opening-doors of the hall, which
filter the twilight. In foreground Chist and the Apostles are lightened from the left
side; so from the light whicht really got in from the windows on the left side.
The Last Supper is situated at St. Maria delle Grazie's Church: that church was
under Ludovico il Moro's protection, who wanted to set up his tomb and that of his wife
Beatrice d'Este there.
The refectory is the room of the Last Supper; before Leonardo that room had been
already decorated by a painter from Lombardy Montorfano. Montorfano painted The Great Crucifixion on the wall opposite to what
after became the wall of the Last Supper. Leonardo da Vinci was ordered to paint
Ludovico il Moro on the left of this work and Beatrice d'Este on the right both knelled
with their children. The comparison between Leonardo and Montorfano was inevitable and
fatal for the latter, who didn't became famous although he was a great painter.
Coming back to the Last Supper: Leonardo painted the most dramatic moment;
Christ feels only after the declaration that one of the apostles will betray him. So
everything is centered on the apostles' reaction to Christ's sentence. Christ is in the
middle and the apostles on the two sides divided in 4 groups of 3 persons, in a pyramid
structure both for Christ and the apostles.
Maybe this is a reference to Thrinity.
The perspective is wonderful: the scene is performed in front of a very big virtual space, whose volume is the same of the one
of the refectory. That's why all the priest who ate in that room could see Christ on the
wall and have the sensation that Christ was looking at them.
As I mentioned, the true Last Supper can be seen from this year on. The
restoration, a great work of cleaning, has revealed new and incredible details.
First of all it is not a fresque; Leonardo painted on the plaster as if he was painting on
a panel using his mysterious techniques which resisted in some parts, but in other they
completely crumble.
He wanted to unify the technique of the tuscan traditional fresco with the flemish oil
technique making often messes. Leonardo was a great painter but also a great scientist and
experimentator: he didn't limit himself to paint: he always wanted to experiment, often
mistaking but in order to correct his mistakes and to gho always forward (“Non mi
sazio di servire”).
To avoid the mutualt crumbling, during the last centuries, people continued to cover
Leonardo's work till few years ago when we could see only untrue additions. Painters of
'700-'800-'900 put on the top of Leonardo's masterwork their own painting. But today Last
Supper is re-born with Leonardo's typical feature.
Now we can surely understand why this work has been so admired when Leonardo
made it.
Even the sky is changed: it has now a blue colour so clear which
conveys the image of the twilight after a wonderful day.
Christ is the centre of the perspective; during the most recent restoration a nail has been rediscovered: this was used to calculate the
perspective. From that discovering we notice that all
the hands are on the same perspective thread.
The main part of the apostles have incredibly changed their physiognomy after the
cleaning. Filippo now has a blond lock and completely different
hands; San Matteo has shown a classic
profile, a new ear, new lips, new hair, a new neck; although great part has been lost,
San Simone has has revealed a splendid movement of the neck.
Thank to this cleaning, we can see the incredible work of Leonardo also according to the
analysis of particular expressions and features of characters. Leonardo has really made a
fantastic work.
