The Last Supper by Leonardo da Vinci. Secrets and mysteries

2024 Author: Leah Sherlock | [email protected]. Last modified: 2023-12-17 05:25

For many art critics and historians, The Last Supper by Leonardo da Vinci is the greatest work. This 15 x 29 foot mural was created between 1495-1497. The artist executed it on the wall of the refectory in the Milanese monastery of Santa Maria della Grazie. Back in the era when Leonardo himself lived, this work was considered the best and most famous. According to written evidence, the painting began to deteriorate in the first twenty years of its existence. Da Vinci's The Last Supper was painted on dry plaster with a large layer of egg tempera. Beneath the paint was a compositional rough sketch drawn in red. The fresco was commissioned by Lodovico Sforza, Duke of Milan.

“The Last Supper” is a painting depicting the moment when Jesus Christ announced to his disciples that one of them would betray him. The personalities of the apostles have repeatedly become the subject of controversy, but judging by the inscriptions on the copy of the painting stored in Lugano, from left to right they are: Bartholomew, the younger James, Andrew, Judas, Peter, John, Thomas, the elder James, Philip, Matthew, Thaddeus, Simon the Zealot. Art historians believe that the composition should be perceived as an interpretationcommunion, because with both hands Christ points to the table with bread and wine.

Unlike other similar paintings, "The Last Supper" shows an amazing variety of emotions of the characters caused by the message of Jesus. No other creation based on the same story even comes close to da Vinci's masterpiece. What secrets did the famous artist encrypt in his work?

The authors of The Discovery of the Templars, Lynn Picknett and Clive Prince, claim that The Last Supper is filled with encrypted symbols. Firstly, to the right of Jesus (for the viewer on the left), in their opinion, it is not John at all who is sitting, but some woman in a robe that contrasts with the clothes of Christ. The space between them resembles the letter "V", while the figures themselves form the letter "M". Secondly, they believe that next to the image of Peter in the picture, one can see a certain hand with a clenched knife, which cannot be attributed to any of the characters. Thirdly, depicted to the left of Jesus (to the viewer on the right), Thomas with a raised finger addresses Christ, and this, the authors believe, is a gesture characteristic of John the Baptist. Finally, fourthly, there is a hypothesis according to which Thaddeus, sitting with his back to Jesus, is a self-portrait of da Vinci himself.

Let's sort it out in order. Indeed, if you look closely at the picture, you can see that the character sitting to the right of Christ (for the viewer on the left) has feminine features. But do the letters “V” and “M” formed by the contours of the bodies carry some symbolic load? Prince and Picknett argue thatthe placement of the figures hints that the character with feminine features is Mary Magdalene and not John at all. In this case, the letter "V" symbolizes the feminine. And "M" just means the name - Mary Magdalene.

As for the disembodied hand, on closer examination it is still clear that it belongs to Peter, he just twisted it, which explains the unusual situation. There is not much to say about Thomas, who raised his index finger like John the Baptist. Disputes on this subject can go on for a long time, and it is up to you to agree or not with such an assumption. The Apostle Thaddeus, as Prince and Picknett noted, does indeed bear some resemblance to Leonardo da Vinci himself. In general, in many of the artist's paintings dedicated to Christ or the Holy Family, one can see the same detail: at least one of the figures is turned back to the main character.

The Last Supper was recently restored, which made it possible to learn a lot of interesting things about it. But the true meaning of the forgotten symbols and secret messages is still unclear, so all new assumptions and conjectures are born. Who knows, maybe someday we will be able to learn at least a little about the plans of the great master.