The Last Supper is a rare work on the wall of the Santa Maria delle Grazie Monastery in Milan, considered by many to be one of the greatest artistic masterpieces of all time. However, in 1494, when Ludovico Sforza, the Duke of Milan, asked Leonardo da Vinci to paint this painting, da Vinci was not too excited about it.
"Leonardo did not want to paint The Last Supper," says Ross King, author of "Leonardo and The Last Supper." “Instead he wanted to make a giant bronze horse (it was a monumental work that would definitely make him famous). However, the outbreak of war in 1494 meant he could not build his bronze horse. So he was tasked with painting a wall in a room where a group of monks had their dinner every day as compensation. He had never painted such a large picture. No wonder he complained bitterly about the commission, which had little experience in such a difficult task. It was entirely possible that it would fail miserably. Fortunately, the story ended successfully. "
The reason da Vinci hesitated was a mural depicting Jesus Christ's last supper with his apostles. The picture is based on the description in the Gospel of John 13:21 and da Vinci, Hz. When they learned that one of the apostles of Jesus would betray them, he aimed to convey their reactions.
“The Da Vinci's Last Supper was very important for a variety of reasons, especially in promoting the artist to celebrity status. da Vinci created what he calls a "work of fame." he says and adds; “It's surprising to think that Leonardo did very little before The Last Supper. For example, if he had died in 1492 at the age of 40, he would be known as someone who made tremendous promises but never delivered the work. But the Last Supper delivered his painting in a magnificent way. Had he not done the Last Supper, he probably would never have gotten his next assignments, including the Mona Lisa. So this masterpiece was very important not only for art history, but also for his own career. "
One of the things that makes the masterpiece The Last Supper special is its size. The famous work measures 4.5 meters by 8.8 meters. "In history, no one other than da Vinci has ever painted a picture of this size with such realistic details and such convincing emotions and dramatic expressions," King said. he says and adds; "No one painting The Last Supper in the following centuries could do that without looking at Leonardo's masterpiece."
Leonardo da Vinci chose to portray a crucial moment in painting. In the picture, Hz. It was depicted the moment Jesus reached bread (symbolizing his crucified body) and wine (a representation of his blood). At the Last Supper, Jesus and his apostles were drinking wine from the Holy Grail and eating bread. However, the absence of a bowl and bread with wine in the picture has been a matter of debate in the Christian world for years.
The editing of the painting contains a great problem of anachronism. Considering the history of the Prophet Jesus and his apostles, it is not possible for them to sit at the table and eat. Chairs placed around the table and eating in this setting is a tradition that has been settled in much later times.