Il Cenacolo-The Last Supper by Leonardo da Vinci in the Santa Maria delle Grazie Church of Milan.
The Last Supper (Italian: Il Cenacolo or L'Ultima Cena) is a 15th century mural painting in Milan created by Leonardo da Vinci for his patron Duke Ludovico Sforza and his duchess Beatrice d'Este. It represents the scene of The Last Supper from the final days of Jesus as narrated in the Gospel of John 13:21, when Jesus announces that one of his Twelve Apostles would betray him.
The Last Supper measures 460 × 880 centimeters (15 feet × 29 ft) and covers the back wall of the dining hall at Santa Maria delle Grazie in Milan, Italy. The theme was a traditional one for refectories, but Leonardo's interpretation gave it much greater realism and depth. The lunettes above the main painting, formed by the triple arched ceiling of the refectory, are painted with Sforza coats-of-arms. The opposite wall of the refectory is covered by the Crucifixion fresco by Giovanni Donato da Montorfano, to which Leonardo added figures of the Sforza family in tempera. (These figures have deteriorated in much the same way as has The Last Supper.) Leonardo began work on The Last Supper in 1495 and completed it in 1498—however, he did not work on the piece continuously throughout this period. This beginning date is not certain, as "the archives of the convent have been destroyed and our meagre documents date from 1497 when the painting was nearly finished."[1]
The Last Supper specifically portrays the reaction given by each apostle when Jesus said one of them would betray him. All twelve apostles have different reactions to the news, with various degrees of anger and shock. From left to right:
L'Ultima cena (detta anche il Cenacolo) è un dipinto di Leonardo da Vinci eseguito per il suo patrono, il duca di Milano Lodovico Sforza. Rappresenta la scena dell'ultima cena di Gesù; il dipinto si basa sul Vangelo di Giovanni 13:21, nel quale Gesù annuncia che verrà tradito da uno dei suoi discepoli.
L'opera misura 4,6 × 8,8 m e si trova nel refettorio del convento di Santa Maria delle Grazie a Milano. Leonardo iniziò a lavorarvi nel 1495 e la completò nel 1498, come testimoniato da Luca Pacioli che in data 4 febbraio di quell'anno ne parla come di un'opera compiuta.