Reaction Essay “Last Supper” The Purpose of the paintings of the “Last Supper,” by Ugolino di Nerio and Leonardo da Vinci, were to portray the betrayal of Jesus Christ by of one the twelve apostles, as they are having the last meal. Jesus Christ mentions to his apostles that there is going to be a betrayal amongst them. All twelve apostles had mixed feelings of anger, fear, and surprised. Later on, it turns out that Judas, one of the twelve apostles, had told the authorities about Jesus so he can be arrested then later crucified. The paintings show a dramatic scene after the claim by Jesus Christ. The paintings give us insight to get the reader interested in the painting of “The Last Supper,” how the cultures that produced those paintings change the way we paint today, and how both paintings influenced the Renaissance era. First of all, The painting of “The Last Supper “by Ugolino di Nerio, shows the twelve apostles sitting across from and besides Jesus Christ, the painting looks very crowded, as the ceiling and the walls are very close, with extreme proximity between Jesus and the apostles. The painting by Nerio is shown as if the scene was enacted in a closed room with no windows and no sunlight, Also, the heads on some of the apostles, look like it is twisted to the other side of their bodies, there is no gap to show a smooth head turn to the right or to the left. Nerio’s painting shows, eleven out of the twelve apostles exhibiting a golden circular plate or crown
By choosing this part of the story; he also chooses to leave out the bread and the wine normally sitting on the table in visuals of the Last Supper. Leonardo’s version is also the first to have Judas sitting on the same side of the table as Jesus. Judas is identifiable by the symbols employed by Leonardo, such as the money bag clutched tightly in Judas’ hand and the difference in his gesture and facial expression to the other disciples. Although this painting breaks conventions, the realism used by Leonardo helped the paintings function of conveying a “true” story to its audience to inspire them to be more faithful.
Tintoretto’s portrayal of the Last Supper is one of dramatic Metaphysicalism. It features the dinning table diagonally along the left half of the work behind it Jesus and his Disciples before the table there is a woman cleaning and in the area above them are the angelic presence of cherubs. There are a number of smaller scenes present within the artwork and there are a number of focal points, which lead the viewer’s eyes over them. The work is full of emotion and is largely unbalanced this is reflective of the time in which the work was created when there was a lot of social outrage and anger. Tintoretto used fantasy, to the point of surrealism in this work; Cherubs and halos are used to emphasize the religious significance of the event. This work has the presence of women. There is a strong contrast in this work with very deep shadows and vibrant bright highlights due to the dramatic lighting. There is an extremely strong use of colour and chiaroscuro.
Leonardo da Vinci was known for a number of famous paintings. “The Last Supper” is one of the most famous paintings in the world, and is by far my favorite artwork created by Leonardo da Vinci. Mr. da Vinci was born on April 15, 1452 in the town of Anchiano, Italy. His parents named him Leonardo di ser Piero da Vinci. In 1495, At the age of forty three, Leonardo began working on “The Last Supper” mural and continued working on the masterpiece till February 9, 1498 says khanacademy.org. The painting is located in the back of the dining hall at the monastery of Santa Maria delle Grazie in Milan, Italy. The mural is a rather large fresco style painting, measuring in size of 181 inches by 346 inches. On May 2, 1519 Leonardo da Vinci died the age of 67 in Clos Luce, France. I have decided to analyze this wonderful piece of art, because of my love for Jesus Christ. The Last Supper draws my attention, because it gives me a visual of the last supper Jesus Christ had with his disciples, that we read about in the Holy Bible.
In the visual arts, composition is the way to build a work to communicate the intent of the art in the brightest and most persuasive way. The most important thing in composition is the creation of the artistic image. The Last Supper’s composition is very ingenious. Sebastiano arranges the disciples into groups of three, each side of Jesus has two groups. All lines and gestures are centered toward Jesus. From one group to the other, the artist makes an effort to connect with one another in a very natural way; the example of the guy stands on the opposite side of the table on Jesus’s right is putting his hand on the guy’s shoulder that sits next to him to connect the two right-wing groups, and between the two groups on the left, they were making eye contacts.
This painting depicts the scene from the Bible known as the last supper, where Jesus and his twelve disciples ate their last meal together before Jesus died. Dali is not the only artist to paint this famous scene, Leonardo Da Vinci, along with many other artists, created their own version as well. The difference is that Dali used his surrealism background to create this scene in a completely unique way. Instead of painting the twelve disciples of Jesus as individuals, Dali painted them symmetrically so that each man had another mirroring the same pose across the table. This element, along with placing the setting of the last supper in a dodecagon and showing the beautiful background, creates a calm and peaceful environment for the disciples to pray. Dali also created two focal points in this painting, while most artists tend to only choose one. The floating torso is obviously the surrealist element of this painting, but also completes the message that Dali is communicating. Though the three elements, symmetry, setting and focal points, Dali created a completely unique rendition of the last
The Last supper represents the first celebration of this sacrifice that is now a key part to every mass. That is why it was so important to show Jesus twice in these paintings.
Although Leonardo chose to paint the moment when Jesus tell his apostles that one of them has betrayed him, Jesus’ expression is not the one of an angry man, but one of compassion. Jesus seems to be calm and ready to face whatever comes next, his facial expression reflects forgiveness while each one of the 12 apostles show multiple expressions of denial and concern. It is to be taken into account that Leonardo managed to give the apostles genuinely human emotions without making it excessive but still gave Christ a unique facial expression.
The artwork that I have chosen to evaluate id Leonardo da Vinci’s The Last Supper. This painting is the last supper Jesus had before he was betrayed. I will interpret this painting by the use of cultural studies and its relation to this painting by its use of symbolic iconography as well as cultural studies and how this makes this painting so significant to this day
The Last Supper, by Leonardo da Vinci, is one of the most famous works of art in the world. This painting represents the religious ceremony with Jesus Christ and his 12 disciples. This is the last meal that was shared between him and his disciples before his arrest and his untimely crucifixion. Leonardo was commissioned to execute the painting in the Dominican monastery of this Church by Duke of Milan, Ludovico Sforza. Leonardo da Vinci was an artist, scientist, architect, author, engineer, inventor, and humanist. He was born in 1452 near Vinci in Italy, and died in Amboise, near Tours France in 1519. The Last Supper and the Mona Lisa are his most famous works of art.
Comparatively, Andrea del Castagno’s Last Supper is early Renaissance completed far in advance of Da Vinci’s rendition. As one of four works commissioned by the Medici family, this mural rests inside the refectory of a former convent Cenacolo de Sant’Apollonia (Kren & Marx, n.d.; Editors Encyclopedia Britannica, 2013). The stone wall assists in dividing the expressions of the disciples in two’s following the news of betrayal (Adams, p.126; Editors Encyclopedia Britannica, 2012). Castagno’s mural is complete with his own view of linear perspective, utilizing the architectural details for movement (Editors Encyclopedia Britannica, 2013; Kren & Marx, n.d). The viewer can see Masaccio’s influence of “pictorial illusion” in the composition in addition to the bright disk like halos seen in his other works (Editors Encyclopedia Britannica, 2013; Kren & Marx, n.d.). Each of the figures in this composition takes up its own space, with the exception of Christ who much like Da Vinci, uses him as the anchor completing the perspective. The space on either of Christ side makes for a dramatic effect, while the lines, tiles and artistic detail frame the scene. Each individual in the mural occupies its own space, unlike that of Da Vinci who incorporated the overlap of the figures gestures for dramatic effect and movement (Last Supper, 2017). The overall composition is balanced, Castagno’s placement of each individual on the opposite side of the table across from Christ completes the geometric triangle seen in early Renaissance works (Editors Encyclopedia Britannica,
The composition is built on the simple geometry of a pyramid, common among Renaissance artworks. The viewer’s attention is drawn immediately to Christ not only because He is located in the center, but the empty spaces surrounding him also serve as an emphasis. In addition, it gives off a sense of loneliness and isolation, knowing He is about to be betrayed. The twelve apostles are separated into four groups of three, with Christ as the central axis. Leonardo Da Vinci maintained the balance and symmetry within the space of the pyramid, dividing the four groups of apostles equally on both sides. The linear placement of the groups of apostles provides a balance and prevents overemphasis and attention on the center.
"Leonardo imagined, and has succeeded in expressing, the desire that has entered the minds of the apostles to know who is betraying their Master. So in the face of each one may be seen love, fear, indignation, or grief at not being able to understand the meaning of Christ; and this excites no less astonishment than the obstinate hatred and treachery to be seen in Judas." (Georgio Vasari, Lives of the Artists, 1568; translated by George Bull). In painting the Last
Leonardo's "Last Supper" is a priceless piece of art with much hidden meaning and obvious talents bestowed upon a wall. Under the study of Verrocchio as a painter and a sculptor, he was able to use his skills in creating a very detailed and a very naturalistic piece of work that would be remembered for hundreds of years. He was also able to create characters with amazing individuality. Not only was his portrayal of the characters magnificent, but the symbolism he used which emphasized the story being told in the "Last Supper".
Leonardo’s painting actually represents the different reactions of the Apostles when Jesus told them that they would be the reason for his death and that someone among them is a betrayer. We can see from the expressions on their faces as well as their postures that they all feel various degrees of anger and surprise. Bartholomew, James and Andrew, who are at the very left corner of the table, look shocked, while Matthew, Jude and Simon, which are at the opposite corner seem to discuss what had just happened. Actually, Matthew and Jude are turned toward Simon and it appears like they are trying to find out if he has any answer to their primary questions. Really interesting is the posture of Judas who is the only person with his right elbow on the table. He looks rather reserved and stunned by the sudden revelation of his plan. Judas is wearing blue and green clothes and is clutching a small bag, which is recognized by many to be the silver given to him as payment to betray Jesus. The most important part of his representation is that he is in shadow, which somehow reveals that he is responsible for the future death of Christ. Next to Judas are Peter, who is visibly furious, and John who looks like is going to fade away. And here is again one of the many questions that this work raise- is it John on the painting or is it Mary Magdalene? Some art analyzers claim that the person to Jesus is not the Apostle John but Mary Magdalene. In fact, this
I have been greatly impacted by all of the artists, styles, and types of art we have talked about so far in Art History I. We have looked at sculptors, paintings, architecture, and prints with varying styles, from a numerous amount of artists. While I am intrigued by mostly all of what we have studied, The Last Supper paintings catch my eye the most. Many artists have successfully completed paintings of The Last Supper including, Tintoretto, Paolo Veronese, and Leonardo da Vinci; however, da Vinci was the first, original painter of The Last Supper. My favorite Last Supper painting definitely has to be the one by Tintoretto. Tintoretto’s Last Supper painting truly represents various key aspects of art; from the usage of colors and shadows, all the way to the numerous groups of people taking on various different tasks.