High Renaissance Art: The Last Supper By Leonardo Da Vinci

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The Last Supper The Last Supper was a High Renaissance painting created by Leonardo da Vinci around 1495. Leonardo painted this painting during the renovation of the Santa Maria delle Grazie Church in Milan (The Last Supper). The fifteen by twenty-nine foot painting is still located on the dining hall wall in the church and has underwent multiple restorations to preserve the masterpiece (Last Supper-History). The painting is very fragile as “the pigment began to break loose from the base and a process of progressive decay set in” (Last Supper-History). It is a painting that shows the moment when Jesus told his disciples that one of them would betray him. The painting is based on the Biblical scripture from John 13:21 (The Last Supper). You …show more content…

Therefore, he gave each disciple a different emotion and action in the painting (Last Supper-History). Also, Leonardo used a common theme of the number three to symbolize the Trinity. He painted the apostles in four groups of three, painted three windows in the background, and painted Jesus in the form of a triangle (The Last Supper). The lighting of the painting contrasts as one side of the room is dark and the other side is light. Jesus places Judas in the shadow to portray that Judas is the betrayer (The Last Supper). Since Judas’ “face is lost in the shadow, he is lost from the light of Christ” (Last Supper-History). The elements used in the Last Supper combine to give the audience a visual representation of how chaotic this moment of the Last Supper with Jesus was. I am immediately drawn to Jesus and the three windows behind him. Then my attention is directed to each and every disciple as I look and examine how each one reacted to Jesus’ statement. This painting baffles me as I think about what each disciple had to say and what each one felt during this event. As some disciples were confused, others were fearful. Seeing their reactions made me think about how I would have reacted to such news. Leonardo da Vinci accomplished his goal of wanting to portray human emotions