Leonardo Da Vinci's The Last Supper

Leonardo Da Vinci's, The Last Supper, was made in 1494 and completed in 1498. The Renaissance masterpiece was painted because Duke Ludovico Sforza commissioned Leonardo Da Vinci to create it for the monastery of Santa Maria delle Grazie located in Milan . Leonardo used an oil/ tempera mix to create this masterpiece. The Last Supper, one of the best works of Christian art, illustrates the moment from Jesus Christ’s last few days. We know that the man in the middle is indeed Jesus Christ because he is the focal point and christianity is the only religion that allows Jesus to be painted or portrayed in photos. Leonardo da Vinci used a technique called one-point linear perspective, where in this painting the vanishing point would be Christ’s head. The pediment above and the window in the bag frame Christ’s head, an ingenious technique developed in beginning of the Quattrocento.

In the painting, Jesus had just declared that one of his apostles will betray him, which explains why all of the men to the right and left of Jesus seem to be in a state of disbelief and are talking amongst themselves. Judas is to the left of Jesus holding a bag and clearly spilling salt on the table. The bag that Judas is holding symbolizes the thirty pieces of silver he was paid to betray Jesus. Also, Judas knocking over the salt is another sign of betrayal. Lastly, Judas is positioned lower than the rest of the apostles and his face and body are shadowed. Peter is sat besides Judas holding a knife in his hand. This is foreshadow that Peter will amputate a soldier's ear in fighting to protect Jesus from getting