Leonardo hadn’t worked on such a large painting and had no experience in the standard mural medium of fresco....
BITS 'N' PIECES
In 1495, Leonardo da Vinci began what would become one of history’s most influential works of art - The Last Supper. The Last Supper is Leonardo’s visual interpretation of an event chronicled in all four of the Gospels (books in the Christian New Testament). The evening before Christ was betrayed by one of his disciples, he gathered them together to eat, tell them he knew what was coming and wash their feet (a gesture symbolizing that all were equal under the eyes of the Lord). As they ate and drank together, Christ gave the disciples explicit instructions on how to eat and drink in the future, in remembrance of him. It was the first celebration of the Eucharist, a ritual still performed.
Specifically, The Last Supper depicts the next few seconds in this story after Christ dropped the bombshell that one disciple would betray him before sunrise, and all twelve have reacted to the news with different degrees of horror, anger, and shock.
Leonardo hadn’t worked on such a large painting and had no experience in the standard mural medium of fresco. The painting was made using experimental pigments directly on the dry plaster wall and unlike frescos, where the pigments are mixed with the wet plaster, it has not stood the test of time well. Even before it was finished there were problems with the paint flaking from the wall and Leonardo had to repair it. Over the years it has crumbled, been vandalized bombed and restored. Today we are probably looking at very little of the original.
Much of the recent interest in the painting has centered on the details hidden within the painting, but in directing attention to these ‘hidden’ details, most people miss the incredible sense of perspective the work displays. The sharp angling of the walls within the picture, which leads back to the seemingly distant back wall of the room and the windows that show the hills and sky beyond. The type of day shown through these windows adds to the feeling of serenity that rests in the center of the piece, around the figure of Christ.
Cristiano Ronaldo now holds the record for the most goals scored for club and country in football history. The five-time Ballon d’Or winner surpassed Pele’s tally of 757 goals and after pulling level with Josef Bican against Sassuolo, Ronaldo has now moved ahead of the Austrian-Czech legend, who managed 759 between 1931 and 1955.
The 35-year-old has reached the tally in 1040 appearances and his numbers are made up of 450 goals for Real Madrid, 118 for Manchester United, 102 for the Portugal national team, 85 for Juventus and five for Sporting CP.
