Lena Rivera
Leonardo da Vinci is known for his many contributions to the world of art, including several paintings for the Catholic Church. One of his most famous works, The Last Supper, was painted between 1495 and 1498 for the Dominican monastery Santa Maria delle Grazie in Milan. The massive mural, which measures five yards tall by almost ten yards wide, depicts the dramatic scene described in the Gospels in which Jesus shares a final meal with his Apostles and foretells his betrayal and death. In addition to The Last Supper, da Vinci also painted St. Jerome in the Wilderness, Salvator Mundi, and Anne, among others, all of which reflect his unique ability to capture human emotions in response to Biblical scenes.
| Characteristics | Values |
|---|---|
| Subject | The Last Supper |
| Medium | Tempera and oil on fresco |
| Size | Five yards tall by almost ten yards wide |
| Location | The refectory of the Convent of Santa Maria delle Grazie, Milan |
| Commissioner | Ludovico Sforza, Duke of Milan |
| Year | Between 1495 and 1498 |
| Current state | Only about 20% of the original fresco remains visible |
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What You'll Learn
The Last Supper
Leonardo da Vinci's "The Last Supper" is a mural painting dated to c. 1495–1498. It is considered perhaps the most important mural painting in the world. The painting represents the scene of the Last Supper of Jesus with the Twelve Apostles, as told in the Gospel of John. Specifically, the moment after Jesus announces that one of his apostles will betray him.
The painting is housed in the refectory of the Convent of Santa Maria delle Grazie in Milan, Italy. It measures 460 cm × 880 cm (15 ft 1 in × 28 ft 10 in) and covers an end wall of the dining hall at the monastery. The painting was commissioned as part of a plan of renovations to the church and its convent buildings by Leonardo's patron Ludovico Sforza, Duke of Milan. Sforza had ordered the church to be rebuilt hastily, and the painting was done on a thin exterior wall, leading to the effects of humidity and the paint's deterioration.
The painting is dense with symbolic references and attributes that identify each apostle. For example, Judas Iscariot is recognised as he reaches toward a plate beside Christ and because he clutches a purse containing his reward for identifying Christ to the authorities. Peter, who sits beside Judas, holds a knife in his right hand, foreshadowing that he will sever the ear of a soldier as he attempts to protect Christ from arrest.
The painting's handling of space, mastery of perspective, treatment of motion, and complex display of human emotion have made it one of the Western world's most recognisable paintings and among Leonardo's most celebrated works. Giorgio Vasari wrote in his Lives of the Most Excellent Painters, Sculptors and Architects that "The Last Supper" is a "beautiful and marvellous thing".
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St. Jerome in the Wilderness
Leonardo da Vinci's "St. Jerome in the Wilderness" is an unfinished painting dated c. 1480–1490. The painting depicts Saint Jerome, famous for translating the Bible into Latin, during his retreat to the Syrian desert, where he lived as a hermit in his old age. The painting is set against the dark background of a cave, with the saint kneeling in a rocky landscape, gazing towards a faintly sketched crucifix. In his right hand, he holds a rock, with which he is traditionally shown beating his chest in penance. The composition is innovative for the oblique trapezoid form of the saint, contrasting with the sinuous form of a lion at the bottom of the painting. The lion is a symbol of power and strength associated with the Gospel of Mark, which Jerome translated into Latin. The rendering of the muscles in the saint's neck and shoulders showcases Leonardo's anatomical knowledge.
The painting's history is as intriguing as its composition. It is one of the few paintings attributed to Leonardo about which there has never been any doubt. The panel was cut into five pieces at some point after the artist's death and was later reassembled by Cardinal Fesch, the uncle of Napoleon Bonaparte, in the early 19th century. Cardinal Fesch purchased the pieces from a Roman junk shop and managed to recover all the segments. The restored painting was then sold to Pope Pius IX in 1856 and installed in the Vatican Museum Pinacoteca, where it still resides today.
The painting is valuable due to its rarity and the insight it provides into Leonardo's technique and approach to visual art. It is also notable for its emotional content, reflecting Leonardo's turmoil during a difficult period in his life. The composition connects to Leonardo's notebooks of anatomical drawings and illustrates his creative use of space.
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Salvator Mundi
The painting was originally executed on wood with oil paint and is dated c. 1499–1510. It was long thought to be a copy of a lost original veiled with overpainting, but it was rediscovered, restored, and included in an exhibition of Leonardo's work at the National Gallery, London, in 2011–2012. The dramatic public unveiling caused a worldwide media sensation.
The painting's attribution to Leonardo da Vinci has been disputed by some leading specialists, some of whom propose that he only contributed certain elements, while others believe that the extensive restoration prevents a definitive attribution. However, Christie's, which sold the work in 2017, stated that most leading scholars consider it an original work by Leonardo. The broad consensus among international scholars is that it is indeed an autograph work by Leonardo da Vinci. This consensus is supported by the painting's relationship to two autograph preparatory drawings in Windsor Castle, its stylistic resemblance to Leonardo's known paintings from circa 1500, and the discovery of numerous pentimenti—preliminary compositional ideas subsequently changed by the artist in the finished painting.
The image type of Salvator Mundi predates Leonardo, and the composition has its sources in Byzantine art. The image of Christ holding a sphere became widely popular following Charlemagne's adoption of the globus cruciger and the sceptre. The earliest true Salvator Mundi images are found in northern Europe, and the iconography of the Salvator Mundi came to fruition in paintings such as Robert Campin's Blessing Christ and Praying Virgin. The earliest Italian example of a Salvator Mundi is likely Antonello da Messina's Christ Blessing, which betrays the influence of Northern artists in the Italian states.
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The Virgin of the Rocks
Leonardo da Vinci's The Virgin of the Rocks is the name of two paintings of the same subject, with identical compositions except for a few significant details. The first version, which is generally considered the prime version, is unrestored and hangs in the Louvre in Paris. The second version, which was restored between 2008 and 2010, hangs in the National Gallery in London. Both paintings are nearly 2 metres (over 6 feet) high and are painted in oils.
The Louvre version, which dates from around 1483-1486, is considered by most art historians to be the earlier of the two. It is also generally accepted that this painting was produced to fulfill a commission of 1483 in Milan. It is about 8 cm (3 in) taller than the London version. The first certain record of this picture dates from 1625, when it was in the French royal collection. It is hypothesised that this painting was privately sold by Leonardo and that the London version was painted at a later date to fill the commission.
The London version, which was restored between 2008 and 2010, is dated to around 1491-1508. It is generally believed that this version was designed by Leonardo and executed with the help of his assistants. Since the recent cleaning, National Gallery curator Luke Syson has stated that the quality which has been revealed indicates that the work is mostly from the hand of Leonardo, and that participation of members of Leonardo's workshop was almost certainly less than previously thought.
Both paintings show the Virgin Mary and Child Jesus with the infant John the Baptist and an angel Uriel, in a rocky setting which gives the paintings their usual name. The figures are grouped together within a geometric shape of a pyramid, with the figures gesturing and looking at each other. This is a good example of the qualities of the new style of the High Renaissance, where artists could do more with the body, making it more complex, elegant, and graceful.
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St. Anne
Leonardo da Vinci's painting "The Virgin and Child with St. Anne" depicts St. Anne, her daughter the Virgin Mary, and Baby Jesus. The painting is notable for its subtle yet perceptible distortion in the sizes of the figures, with St. Anne depicted as significantly larger than Mary, emphasizing their mother-daughter relationship. The positioning of the figures is also interesting, with Mary seated on St. Anne's lap, gazing into the eyes of Baby Jesus, who is holding a lamb, while St. Anne looks at Mary. This composition may reflect the difference in personalities across generations.
The idea of depicting the Mother of God with her own mother was particularly meaningful to Leonardo da Vinci, as he himself had two mothers due to being "adopted" by his father's wife after initially being raised by his biological mother. Sigmund Freud and Erich Neumann both offered differing psychoanalytic interpretations of Leonardo's childhood and its influence on his artistic motivations.
Infrared reflectography revealed several sketches on the back of the painting, including a drawing of a horse's head, a depiction of half a skull, and an image of the infant Jesus playing with a lamb. The Louvre spokesperson stated that the sketches were "very probably" made by Leonardo, marking the first discovery of drawings on the backside of one of his works.
"The Virgin and Child with St. Anne" is one of Leonardo da Vinci's religious works, many of which were commissioned for churches or altars, despite the artist never proclaiming himself as deeply religious. These works are some of the best-known pieces of Renaissance art and are highly admired and valued centuries later.
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Frequently asked questions
One of the most famous artworks in the world, The Last Supper was painted by Leonardo da Vinci, probably between 1495 and 1498.
The Last Supper depicts the last supper Jesus shared with his Apostles. It captures the moment when Jesus tells them that one of them will betray him.
The Last Supper was painted on a wall. Leonardo, an innovator, used tempera pigments mixed with oil to get finer details and more vivid colours.
The Last Supper was painted for the Dominican monastery Santa Maria delle Grazie in Milan.
