Decorating the former dining hall (cenacolo) of the Church of Santa Maria delle Grazie, this remarkable, exactingly crafted fresco is one of the ultimate masterpieces of the Renaissance. Reservations are mandatory and need to be booked long in advance – or you can pay an extra $20 euros each and buy one on the street in front.
Milan’s leading family, the Sforzas, hired Leonardo to decorate the dining hall of the Dominican monastery that adjoins the church (the Dominican order traditionally placed a Last Supper on one end of their refectories, and a Crucifixion at the other). Leonardo worked on the project from about 1494 until 1498. This gift was essentially a bribe to the monks so that the Sforzas could place their family tomb in the church. Ultimately, the French drove the Sforzas out of Milan, they were never buried there, and the Dominicans got a great fresco for nothing.
Deterioration began within six years of The Last Supper’s completion because Leonardo painted on the wall in layers, as he would on a canvas, instead of applying pigment to wet plaster in the usual fresco technique. The church was bombed in WWII but – miraculously, It seems – the wall holding The Last Supper remained standing. A 21-year restoration project (completed in 1999) peeled away 500 years of touch-ups, leaving Leonardo’s masterpiece faint but vibrant.
To minimize damage from humidity, only 30 tourists are allowed in every 15 minutes for exactly 15 minutes. As our appointed time neared, we were herded between several rooms to dehumidify, while doors close behind us and open slowly in front of us.
When the last door opens, you step in and look to the right and… there it is. In a big, vacant, whitewashed room, you’ll see faded pastels and not a crisp edge. The feet under the table look like negatives. But the composition is dreamy – Leonardo captures the psychological drama as the Lord says “One of you will betray me,” an the apostles huddle in stressed-out groups of three, wondering, “Lord, is it I?” Some are scandalized. Others want more information. Simon (on the far right) gestures as if to ask a question that has no answer. In this agitated atmosphere, only Judas (fourth from left and the only one with his face in shadow) – clutching his 30 pieces of silver and looking pretty guilty – is not shocked.
The circle meant life and harmony to Leonardo. Deep into a study of how life emanates in circles – like ripples on a pool hit by a pebble – Leonardo positioned the 13 characters in a semicircle. Jesus is in the center, from whence the spiritual force of God emanates, or ripples out.
The room depicted in the painting seems like an architectural extension of the monk’s dining hall. The disciples form an apse, with Jesus as the altar – in keeping with the Eucharist. Jesus anticipates his sacrifice, his face sad, all-knowing, and accepting. His feet even foreshadow his death by crucifixion. Had the door, which was cut out in 1652, not been added, you’d see how Leonardo placed Jesus’ feet atop each other, ready for the nail.
The perspective is mathematically correct, with Jesus’s head as the vanishing point where the converging sight lines meet. In fact, restorers found a tiny nail hole in Jesus’s left eye, which anchored the strings Leonardo used to establish these lines. The table is cheated out to show the meal. Notice the exquisite lighting. The walls are lines with tapestries (as they would have been), and the one on the right is brighter in order to fit the actual lighting in the refectory (which has windows on the left). With the extremely natural effect of the light and the drama of the faces, Leonardo created a masterpiece.
The monks ate at three tables just like the ones Leonardo painted, with a carefully ironed tablecloth also just like the one painted. The monks ate in silence, communicating with hand gestures (notice the ballet of hand gestures in Leonardo’s composition.
Once you depart your 15 minutes in front of the masterpiece, you are then escorted to the chapel of the monastery that is attached. This church is beautiful as well.
We were able to continue with our ritual of lighting a candle for each of our families departed loved ones. It helps us to ground our visits and to remember how blessed we are.
No one should skip the opportunity to see this masterpiece. Even if art is not your thing – you can’t help but be impressed.