The Last Supper by Leonardo Da Vinci Essay Example for Free

The Last Supper by Leonardo Da Vinci Essay The Renaissance, which took place in the fifteenth century, was an important time for artist. For many years, art had not played a significant role in the lives of individuals. Instead they had worked hard and worshiped a god that they felt was out to destroy them. Then came the Renaissance when art was reborn and wisdom was encouraged. Artist began to experiment with new techniques and materials. Many of the creative people of the day looked at their subjects in a different way. They wanted them to look realistic instead of the stiff figures in earlier works. Leonardo Da Vinci, a true Renaissance man, was no exception. The Last Supper was one of his most famous works and embodied the characteristics of the Italian Renaissance. The Renaissance movement followed the Gothic art of the Middle Ages, also known as The Dark Ages. After the lack of learning of the Middle Ages there was a complete turnabout in the Renaissance. It was as if there was a burst of enthusiasm for learning and experimenting with every new idea that artist could fathom. There was no shortage of patrons to support these skilled and talented individuals of the art world. There was a renewed interest in the ancient Greek and Roman art and architecture. It seemed to those whose art was produced in the Renaissance felt that it was more beneficial to study the works of the ancients instead of the previous period. In ancient Greece and Rome, there was a keen interest in the human being. They felt that mankind was the most interesting subject for an artist. Man was complex and there was always something to be learned about him. In an attempt to present man in the way that he had never been before, the artist of the Renaissance period delved into the practice of experimenting with perspective. It was only through painting a three dimensional figure that man could be seen as the complex being that he was. In order to make a figure seem more than one dimensional, chiaroscuro, or the use of light and dark to create depth. Duke Ludovico Sforza was a patron of Da Vinci. He commissioned him to paint the mural of The Last Supper on the wall of his dining hall. He accepted the commission and began his work in fourteen ninety-five. As was true to Da Vinci’s nature, he wanted to experiment with new materials. He covered the wall with a sealant, gesso, and then painted the mural with tempura paint. Like many experiments, this one proved to be unsuccessful. While the painting was a masterpiece, it did not hold up well and it was not long after he finished in fourteen ninety-eight that the painting was already showing signs of deterioration. The mural has been restored many times over the centuries and has now recently been restored to what is hoped to be an accurate one. However, it was a difficult task since not all of the ones who tried to restore it had the same objective as leaving in its original form. The painting itself is of the Passover that Jesus spent with his twelve disciples just before his arrest and crucifixion, later known as The Last Supper. Religious subjects were quite popular in Italian society because Italy was the center of the Roman Catholic Church. In this painting Jesus has just informed his disciples that one of them would betray him. This shocked and confused his disciples because they wondered how one of the twelve could go against the man they had given up everything for, who was the one who would commit such a vile act, and would the culprit be them. The look of surprise and disdain is on their faces. Jesus is placed at the center of the painting and then he is flanked on each side by six of the disciples. This creates a balance to the stark room, which is the setting of the last meal that Jesus would share with his original twelve disciples. Judas is just to the left of Jesus and is holding his finger in a way that would suggest he is being challenged. The others are discussing the situation amongst themselves. The disciple to the right of Jesus has been the center of discussion lately with the popularity of the book and movie The Da Vinci Code. The disciple of all of the focus is John, the one who was the â€Å"beloved† disciple. Da Vinci painted him to look extremely feminine. Dan Brown questioned the identity of this figure. He suggested that instead of John, the identity was Mary Magdalene. Perhaps Brown was right, but it also makes sense that Da Vinci actually meant for the figure to be John. John was the youngest of the disciples and he could have emphasized his youth by purposely painting him in a feminine light to stress his youth. The setting of the painting is the upper room of the Passover meal. The room is dark and stark. Da Vinci brings light to the painting by using light and vivid colors for the clothing of the disciples. Light blue is the predominant color with pink, green, and yellow used as complimentary colors. The viewer’s eye is automatically drawn to the center of the painting which is Jesus, but is shortly drawn out in both directions because the colors seem to elongate the view. Jesus and the disciples have a multi dimensional appearance as was popular during the Renaissance. However, they were not accurate in the sense that they appear European. These men were Israelites and their complexions and hair would have been much darker than they appear in the painting. This is also a trait of Renaissance art. The artist tended to make their biblical subjects look like the artist. Leonardo Da Vinci and his painting, The Last Supper, are typical examples of the Renaissance movement. His courage to experiment and yet still focus on religious themes that were popular at that time was enhanced by his superior artistic talent.