The Last Supper Leonardo: Encyclopedia II - The Last Supper Leonardo - Composition and meaning

The Last Supper Leonardo - Composition and meaning

The work measures 460 × 880 cm and can be found in the refectory of the convent of Santa Maria delle Grazie in Milan. The theme was a traditional one for refectories, but Leonardo's interpretation gave it much greater realism and depth. The lunettes above the main painting, formed by the triple arched ceiling of the refectory, are painted with Sforza coats-of-arms. The opposite wall of the refectory is covered by a Crucifixion fresco by Donato Montorfano, to which Leonardo added figures of the Sforza family in tempera. (These figures have deteriorated in much the same way as has The Last Supper.) Leonardo began work on The Last Supper in 1495 and completed it in 1498 — however, he did not work on the piece continuously throughout this period.

The Last Supper specifically portrays the reaction given by each apostle when Jesus said one of them would betray him. All twelve apostles have different reactions to the news, with various degrees of anger and shock. From left to right: Bartholomew, James the Lesser and Andrew form a group of three, all are surprised. Andrew holds both of his hands up in a "stop!" gesture. Judas, Peter and John form another group of three. Judas is in shadow, looking rather withdrawn and taken back by the sudden revelation of his plan. He is clutching a small bag of silver, given to him as payment to betray Jesus. Peter looks angry; perhaps foreshadowing Peter's reaction in Gethsemane. The youngest apostle, John, appears to swoon. Thomas, James Major and Philip are next group of three. Thomas is clearly upset; James the Greater looks stunned, with his arms in the air. Meanwhile, Philip appears to be requesting some explanation. Matthew, Jude Thaddeus and Simon the Zealot are apart of the final group of three. Both Jude Thaddeus and Matthew are turned toward Simon, perhaps to find out if he has any answer to their initial questions. These names are all agreed upon by art historians. In the 1800's a manuscript was found with their names; before this only Judas, Peter, John and Jesus were positively identified.

In common with other depictions of the Last Supper from this period Leonardo adopts the convention of seating the diners on one side of the table, so that none of them have their backs to us. However, most previous depictions had typically excluded Judas by placing him alone on the opposite side of the table from the other twelve. Another technique commonly used was placing halos around all the disciples except Judas. Leonardo creates a more dramatic and realistic effect by having Judas lean back into shadow. He also creates a realistic and psychologically engaging means to explain why Judas takes the bread at the same time as Jesus, just after Jesus has predicted that this is what his betrayer will do. Jesus is shown saying this to Saints Thomas and James to his left, who react in horror as Jesus points with his left hand to a piece of bread before them. Distracted by the conversation between John and Peter, Judas reaches for a different piece of bread, as, unseen by him, Jesus too stretches out with his right hand towards it.

Adapted from the Wikipedia article "Composition and meaning", under the G.N U Free Docmentation License. Please also see http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki