Religious Artwork: The Last Supper By Leonardo Da Vinci

Religious Artwork of the Renaissance In this paper I will be comparing three different pieces of artwork. I will be examining how these pieces portray their biblical themes, and any different technique each artist uses in their paintings. The first painting is The Last Supper by Leonardo da Vinci, c 1497. It is a Fresco painting. Fresco painting is color that is ground up in water or a limewater mixture. It is painted on a fresh and moist plaster surface. It is 15’1”x28’10 ½ “. It is currently in the Refectory of Santa Maria delle Grazia, Milan, Italy. A fresco painting is a method of painting water-based pigments on freshly applied plaster. This painting shows Christ at the center of the painting. It shows you that he is the most
It is 45’0”x 40’0”. It is in the Sistine Chapel, Vatican City, Italy. The painting is a Fresco painting. As mentioned earlier, a fresco painting is colors ground up in water and painted on fresh plaster. The painting is by Michelangelo di Lodovico Buonarroti Simoni around 1534-1541. The religious aspects of this painting show the Last Judgement. Christ is in the center with his mother Mary at his right-hand side, signifying her ascent to heaven, or signifying her eternal place next to her son. There is also light behind these two figures to show their divinity. The painting shows the rising of souls to heaven on the left side of the painting. On the right shows the souls of the damned entering the ferry into hell. This piece is very confusing in the sense that we can see some figures ascending to heaven, but there are others that are either climbing, or someone is trying to keep them from falling. What is interesting about this piece is Michelangelo’s use of nude or mostly nude figures. The Catholic church did not believe in homosexuality, and they thought Michelangelo’s orientation to be homosexual in nature. Mainly because he found joy in sculpting the male body in the naked form. He shows that in his painting with the numerous amounts of naked or partially naked figures. They look perfectly sculpted, as to represent his first love of sculpting. It seems that Michelangelo was very tortured and it showed in his painting of the
1510-1515. The dimensions are the center panel: 8’ 9 5/8” x 10’. The bottom piece, the predella or base: 29 7/8”x 11’. Both right and left side panels are: 7’ 6 5/8” x 29 7/8”. This piece has oil paintings on each panel. It is currently in Musée d’Unterlinden, Colmar, France. This altarpiece was originally in the Abbey of St. Anthony in Isenheim. The Abbey was a place for people suffering from skin diseases. The center panel shows the first religious aspect of this piece, the crucifixion of Christ. This gave comfort to the people of the Abbey that were suffering to show that they were not alone. It showed Christ as more human and showed his suffering as well. It made him more relatable. There is a lamb at the feet of Christ with its leg wrapped around a crucifix. I think the lamb foretells the rebirth of Christ. As it is believed that Jesus is the lamb of God and the white of the lamb would represent purity and the purity of Christ. The lamb could also be seen representing Christ carrying his cross and bearing his burdens. The bottom part of the altarpiece shows Christ being dragged off to his tomb. If you knew the story of Christ death and revival, then this would give the people suffering from terrible diseases that they might be able to reach a place where they would be free of their