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Most of you will probably know Leonardo Da Vinci, the painter, the artist, the architect, the engineer, the mathematician, the scientist, the inventor, the genius.
Born in Tuscany (Italy) in 1452, this over-talented excepionally creative-minded man, spent his whole life experiencing new techinques and filling up notebooks with sketches and drawings on architecture, engineering works, anatomy, botanical discoveries, physics. His works and his theories were really exceptional for those years. Sigmund Freud once told about him: "Leonardo da Vinci was like a man who awoke too early in the darkness, while the others were all still asleep".
Anyway, I’m not writing an op about him but I want to talk to you about one of his most famous paintings named “Il Cenacolo” (The Last Supper). It can be seen in
Milan, directly where Leonardo painted it: on the wall of the refectory of the church Santa Maria delle Grazie. Technically, it’s a mixture of oil and tempera on plaster. Its size is 460 x 880 cm. Unlike his other famous painting La Gioconda (Monna Lisa) now property of the Louvre in Paris, that is only 50 x 70 cm., Il Cenacolo is quite big and this is one of the reasons why I felt so astonished when I walked into the small refectory room.
I was about 18 when I first saw it and I really didn’t expect it like that. I had always seen it on magazines and books. Believe me, it’s not the same. Maybe because it’s something made in the 15th century, maybe because it’s situated just where Leonardo painted it, but I can assure you that once inside the room, I felt thrown back directly in 1497, I could hear the voices, the dragging of the heavy velvet dresses on the floor, I was there.
Il Cenacolo represents the last supper, the famous scene in the Bible with Christ that sits at the table in the center and his disciples sit around him. This painting is probably the most important one among all works of art representing Christian subjects. It has always been in our imagination. Maybe some of you will remember for instance the film Jesus Christ Superstar. The Last Supper scene was taken from Il Cenacolo. All actors suddenly put themselves in the same position as the disciples in Leonardo’s painting.
Begun in 1495, it took three years to finish it.
Today Il Cenacolo is not in a good condition and is mostly damaged. Many are the causes but Leonardo is the first one responsible for the damage. In fact he did not use the “fresco” technique, the right one to be applied on a wall painting but a dry technique usually applied to canvas, a mixture of oil and tempera. He loved to paint slowly, see the colour effects immediately and still be able to modify errors. Fresco technique does not permit this. The painting must be done quickly and the real colours come out only after one day when the work is completly dried.
From 1980 to 1999 it has been subject to many restorations by artists from all over the world and it has also been repainted. To a certain degree, we can say the recent restorations have prolonged its life and preserved it for future generations who will still keep viewing and appreciate it.
I felt so emotional facing such a beautiful and important work. Don’t miss this experience if you pass by Milan. I reccomend it to anyone who is sensitive-hearted.
I’m very sorry for not being able to tell you about the characters of Christ and of the disciples that Leonardo succeded in describing so well. I can tell you that they are so “alive” that they seem to be speaking to each other. If you are interested, there are many books analising this argument.
Anyway, I found a website page where you can check and read about the real story of the “casting” Leonardo made to find the models for this painting. If you like, have a look at http://www.rense.com/general/davin.htm
Thank you for reading, you are more than welcome to come and visit Milan!
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