Leonardo Da Vinci The Last Supper Essay
Essayist, writer, scientist, inventor, engineer, and artist, Leonardo da Vinci was born on April 15, 1452 in Vinci, Tuscany, Italy. He was the son of a peasant girl named Caterina and attorney Piero da Vinci. They were never married, leaving Da Vinci an only child, with 17 half-siblings. Leonardo had received no formal education beyond basic math, writing, and reading, but his artistic talent showed at a very early age. Around the age of fifteen, Leonardo began to work with the highly celebrated artist Andrea del Verrocchio of Florence. Da Vinci refined his painting and sculpting techniques while learning a variety of skills in mechanical arts.
At the age of twenty, the painters’ guild of Florence offered Leonardo membership, but da Vinci …show more content…
Set on the wall of the Santa Maria delle Grazie in Milan, Italy, The Last Supper captures the final meal of Jesus Christ with his disciples before he was crucified. The scene da Vinci painted, shows the drama of Christ’s prophecy, “One of you shall betray me” (author 119) and the reaction of each disciple to the news. Although the painting looks like a straightforward biblical piece of art, it is a very complex piece of work. The mathematical symbolism and use of perspective and dramatic focus, makes it a prime example of High Renaissance aesthetics.
Leonardo used the concept of the trinity, in the number three, where he grouped each of the disciples in threes with two groups on each side of Christ. Da Vinci made the disciples in the painting human like, giving them various emotions that ranged from horror, anger, and disbelief. He had tried to make the disciples in the picture look as human as possible, something that was never done …show more content…
Not much is known about when the painting was painted, who the portrait is of, and the story behind it. What is known of it is that it was painted between 1503 and 1506 and is of a woman named Lisa Gherardini. The work was commissioned by the subjects’ husband, Francesco Del Giocondo, just after the turn of the century. Lisa was from a well-known and prominent family that was known throughout Tuscany and Florence and eventually married Francesco who was a very wealthy silk merchant. The work was to celebrate their estates completion, as well as the birth of their second son. Originally commissioned in Italy, it now resides in France and hangs on display in the Louvre in
At the age of twenty, the painters’ guild of Florence offered Leonardo membership, but da Vinci …show more content…
Set on the wall of the Santa Maria delle Grazie in Milan, Italy, The Last Supper captures the final meal of Jesus Christ with his disciples before he was crucified. The scene da Vinci painted, shows the drama of Christ’s prophecy, “One of you shall betray me” (author 119) and the reaction of each disciple to the news. Although the painting looks like a straightforward biblical piece of art, it is a very complex piece of work. The mathematical symbolism and use of perspective and dramatic focus, makes it a prime example of High Renaissance aesthetics.
Leonardo used the concept of the trinity, in the number three, where he grouped each of the disciples in threes with two groups on each side of Christ. Da Vinci made the disciples in the painting human like, giving them various emotions that ranged from horror, anger, and disbelief. He had tried to make the disciples in the picture look as human as possible, something that was never done …show more content…
Not much is known about when the painting was painted, who the portrait is of, and the story behind it. What is known of it is that it was painted between 1503 and 1506 and is of a woman named Lisa Gherardini. The work was commissioned by the subjects’ husband, Francesco Del Giocondo, just after the turn of the century. Lisa was from a well-known and prominent family that was known throughout Tuscany and Florence and eventually married Francesco who was a very wealthy silk merchant. The work was to celebrate their estates completion, as well as the birth of their second son. Originally commissioned in Italy, it now resides in France and hangs on display in the Louvre in