Last Supper Paintings

Two different renditions of the Last Supper:


Above, a restored version of the Da Vinci painting -

The Last Supper is a painting by Leonardo da Vinci for his patron Duke Lodovico Sforza. It represents the scene of The Last Supper from the final days of Jesus Christ as depicted in the Bible. The painting is based on John 13:21, in which Jesus announced that one of his 12 disciples would betray him.

The original work measures 460 x 880 cm and can be found in the convent of Santa Maria delle Grazie in Milan. Leonardo began work on The Last Supper in 1495 and completed it in 1498.

Leonardo painted The Last Supper on a dry wall rather than on wet plaster, so it is not a true fresco. Because of the method used, the piece has not withstood time very well – within 20 years of completion it already began showing signs of deterioration. It has undergone significant restoration since the 16th century. Because of this it is uncertain whether the faces still resemble Leonardo's original painting.



1542; Oil on canvas; Galleria Borghese, Rome

Jacopo Bassano's Last Supper is one of the masterpieces of 16th-century Italian painting. Instead of the elegant grouping of figures in Leonardo's painting, which inspired it, this dramatic scene features barefoot fishermen at the crucial moment when Christ asks who will betray him, and the light passing through a glass of wine stains the clean tablecloth red. Recent restoration has only now revealed the extraordinary original colours, which had been heavily painted over in the 19th century, when the emerald green and iridescent pinks and oranges were not in fashion.