the last supper?

Question

can anyone point out any details such as the knife but other small interesting things about the painting?

where is this mystery arm>

Answer 1

Leonardo Da Vinci and The Last Supper

The Last Supper covers one wall in the rectory (dining hall) of the Dominican Monastery of Santa Maria delle Grazie in Milan, Italy. Measuring 15 by 29 feet, it was not a true fresco of tempera paint on wet plaster where both dry together. Known for not liking to be held to a timetable, Da Vinci experimented with a new technique that would allow him to work at his own pace. He painted the wet plaster with a lead-white primer and then later added the color (Bertelli 1983: 678). Commissioned by the Duke of Milan, he spent some three years on the project, between 1495 and 1497.

An oft-painted Renaissance theme, Da Vinci's Last Supper was unlike any other of his day. Arguably the greatest example of one point perspective ever created, every element of the painting directs attention to the painting's mid-point, on Christ's head. Renaissance Last Suppers portrayed the disciples as if posed, while the genius of Da Vinci's work was his depiction of the moment Jesus announced, "one of you shall betray me" (Mt 26:21). At that moment, only Jesus and Judas sit motionless as all others react to the news.

With 13 people situated along one side of the table, Jesus is conspicuous alone in the center (Bertelli 1983: 680). Traditionally, each person is identified. The disciples are placed in four groups of three. From left to right they are identified as Bartholomew, James the Less (of Alphaeus), Andrew, Judas, Peter, John, Jesus, Thomas (raised finger), James the Elder (of Zebedee), Philip, Simon the Canaanite-Zealot, Jude, Matthew (Constantio 2004: 72).

It has been standard artistic convention to use certain elements to identify specific people at the table. Jesus is always indicated, as well as Judas and sometimes John. In Da Vinci's Last Supper, Jesus is alone in the center and John, depicted as apparently the youngest of the disciples, is on His right. The Bible places John next to Jesus and leaning on him (Jn 13:23-25), a usual depiction of John in Last Supper scenes (Bertelli 1983: 680). John appears younger than everyone else at the table with long hair and no beard. While the Bible does not mention John's youth (but maybe hinted at in Jn 20:2-6), church history suggests John was the youngest apostle. Da Vinci depicts Peter as beckoning to John to ask Jesus who the betrayer is (Jn 13:24).

Judas, motionless at the table, is also seen holding the bag (Jn 12:6; 13:29). The bag as mentioned in the Gospel of John suggests Judas was the group's treasurer and it has been an almost universal marker of Judas in Last Supper representations (Fackler 2000: 23). While not appearing today on Da Vinci's Last Supper wall painting, another subtle artistic marker for Judas was portrayed on a large canvas copy by Da Vinci's student Marco di Omagiono. Next to Judas' arm on the table, where he holds the moneybag on the table, is a spilled vessel of salt. Salt was a Biblical symbol for covenant (Lv 2:13; 2 Chr 13:5) and may have been another indicator of Judas (Fackler 2000: 23-4).

Immediately acclaimed as a masterpiece, several large scale copies of his Last Supper were also made during his lifetime, including at least two by his students (Bertelli 1983: 679). Even today, it continues to be one of history's most famous and copied paintings. Amazingly, it is one of only a few finished paintings of Da Vinci that we have, including the 21 by 28 inch Mona Lisa.

Unfortunately, the painting technique turned out to be a disaster. Within two decades, while Da Vinci was still alive, the painting began to peel and flake. Believing the painting had already been lost; in 1652 the monks enlarged a doorway, cutting into the middle of the wall erasing Jesus' feet beneath the table (Bertelli 1983: 670). Eventually filled in, the doorway can still be seen today.

For the record, the deterioration may not have been Da Vinci's fault. He was a very careful man and the specific reasons for the painting's decay are still not clear today. But there is evidence that those were dry years, with no snow on the Alps. Nature may have had more to do with it than shortcomings on Da Vinci's part (Bertelli 1983: 679).

In 1796, Napoleon's troops used the refectory as a stable and armory; soldiers threw rocks at the disciples and climbed ladders to gouge out their eyes (Bertelli 1983: 680). During World War II, Allied bombs destroyed the rectory, coming within just a yard of destroying the wall painting.

The first of six restoration projects on The Last Supper began in 1652 (Bertelli 1983: 674). Unfortunately, most of them did more damage to the original than anything else. Only with the last restoration has modern technology been employed to preserve the painting. Working from 1979 to May 1999, it took over five times longer to restore it than it took Da Vinci to originally paint it! Today, protected by a sophisticated air filtration system, groups of 25 people are allowed to view it for 15 minutes. Two additional interesting stories from Da Vinci's Last Supper are the hand and unclear "knife." While appearing to be associated with Peter, it does not seem to anatomically fit any of the figures at the table. Unusual, since Da Vinci was so interested in accurate perspective of the human body.

Another famous story about Da Vinci's Last Supper is the story about the model that sat for both Jesus and Judas. The last face to paint was Judas. Da Vinci unwittingly used the same man for Judas that he used for Jesus between 10 and 20 years earlier (although most scholars believe the painting was completed in three years). The intervening years had been rough for that man and the one whose sweet face had one been used to represent the Savior was now hardened and twisted enough to represent Judas. Unfortunately there is no historical evidence behind the story. We know nothing about of any of Da Vinci's models. It is apparently just an urban legend, like much of The Da Vinci Code.

Answer 2

OK, so, I'll try to be as gentle as possible. Here are the 12 disciples first : Eric Clapton John Lennon Jimmy Page Bob Dylan Pete Townshend Joe Perry Rory Gallagher George Harrison Steve Morse Freddie Mercury Saul Hudson (Slash) Ritchie Blackmore And the middle-man is... tataratarataratataaaaaa: Jimi Hendrix! Oh, and also, the painter of the painting won't be me. It would be Keith Richards, because the disciples are only 12...

Answer 3

There is a phantom arm that hovers in the air, and there is the absence of the Holy Grail on the table.