The Last Supper

The Last Supper

A work three years in the making, Leonardo Da Vinci's The Last Supper remains one of the greatest masterpieces of all time. Even over 500 years after the painting was completed, this piece remains one of the most studied paintings in history, and The Last Supper is among the most sold of all Da Vinci posters.

In 1495 Leonardo Da Vinci was commissioned by Ludovico il Moro to paint a wall in the refectory of the Santa Maria delle Grazie in Milan. The dining hall that Leonardo was to decorate with his painting was located in the building adjacent to the church. Leonardo was asked to create a portrait of Christ's last supper with his disciples, but more importantly, Leonardo chose to paint the very moment in which Christ announces that among the disciples lies a traitor. Through his brilliant brushwork, Leonardo manages to make the moment come to life with his personification of each of the twelve disciples, demonstrating their personal reactions to the announcement through facial expressions and movement.

His 12 disciples, whom Leonardo has cleverly divided into groups of 3, surround Christ, figured in the center of the painting. Alone in the center, Christ's arms lay open, encompassing him into a triangular shape, expressive of the Divine Trinity, while the four groups around him are each boxed within their areas of the painting. Like most of Leonardo's other works, geometric shapes form the painting and aid in creating the painting's dialogue.

Unlike the other paintings that had been made of The Last Supper, Leonardo chose to sit Judas in with the rest of the disciples. In paintings by other artists, Judas was often found separated from the group, making his role of the deceiver obvious. Leonardo's inclusion of Judas with the other disciples is part of what makes the painting such a masterpiece, as his inclusion in the group forces the audience to scan the painting and each character in it, and it strengthens the notion that each of disciples was questioning of himself when Christ announced to his disciples "One of you will betray me."

While Da Vinci posters are abundant, The Last Supper is certainly amongst the most exceedingly popular, found in holy institutions and homes around the world, posters and reproductions seem to be a wonderful way of bringing Leonardo home. Da Vinci posters are timeless and long lasting, but unfortunately the same cannot be said about the actual Last Supper. Early in the 16th century, the painting started chipping away, and while many restorations have taken place to conserve the painting, today many will say that the painting has been repainted more so then restored

When he began the painting, Leonardo decided not to use the conventional fresco methods as this required that the painting be completed quickly, and it required the painter to work continuously. This was not how Leonardo wanted to work; he wanted to take his time and to reproduce his vision without the limitation of time. Leonardo developed a new technique that he would use to complete the painting. Throughout the ages, Leonardo has been criticized for the poor technique, but The Last Supper will always remain as one of the greatest masterpieces of all time.

One of the most widely known works in Italy, a visit to the site isn't all that easy. Apparently, only 20 people can view the work at any given time, and each group is only allotted 15 minutes in the refectory. Anyone planning a visit to the site should certainly consider reserving tickets early on.

Leonardo Da Vinci's Life

Leonardo Da Vinci's Life

A painter, a sculptor, an architect and an engineer, Leonardo Da Vinci's numerous skills have earned him the title of renaissance master. Da Vinci's fascination with science and his in-depth study of human anatomy aided him in mastering the realist art form. While Leonardo's counterparts were known to create static figures in their works, Leonardo always tried to incorporate movement and expression into his own paintings. All the personages in his works are painted with great accuracy and detail that it is sometimes said that Da Vinci painted from the bones outward.

Having lived until the age of 67, Leonardo experienced a very long career that was filled with times during which the painter was celebrated, but at times he was also humiliated and cast away. His life experiences all influenced his works and often, his paintings never left the sketchpad, or were only partially completed, as Leonardo often abandoned his commissions in order to flee from social situations.

Today, there are records of only few Da Vinci paintings, and 20 notebooks. Thankfully, these works have been preserved over the hundreds of years since Leonardo's time, and while his works are scattered in different areas of the globe, everyone can enjoy Da Vinci through the numerous books detailing his life, or through any of the many Da Vinci posters that have been printed

A well known master in the history of art, Leonard Da Vinci is renown by people all over the map, and those of us who cannot travel to view the true works that the genius created can at least bring home a piece of him when we buy Da Vinci posters or prints. His most famous paintings, and the most popular Da Vinci posters around, are those of The Last Supper, The Mona Lisa and Vitruvian Man: The Proportions of the Human Figure. These works, displayed in Milan and Paris respectively, are among the most influential works ever created.

Beyond the purchase of a book of paintings or Da Vinci posters or prints, there are many resources and much literature detailing Leonardo's life. But for those who want a quick study, The Leonardo Timeline offers a glance through the artist's life, while the biography section of this site offers a more detailed view of Leonardo Da Vinci and what shaped the man and his many talents.

Mona Lisa

Leonardo Da Vinci's Mona Lisa is one of the most famous and most celebrated works of all time. The mastery of the painting lies in its subtle detail, including the faint smile, and Mona Lisa's distinctive gaze. The work is said to have been commissioned by a gentleman named Francesco del Giocondo, who hired Leonardo to paint a portrait of his wife, and this is why The Mona Lisa is sometimes referred to as La Gioconda. While this is a theory on the origination of the painting, scholars have disagreed throughout the ages about how factual this story really is.

The Mona Lisa, aside from being one of the most recognized works in the history of art, is also one of the most widely reproduced works ever. Of course there are numerous Da Vinci posters available, many of which are of The Mona Lisa, available in different hues and a variety of sizes, there are also many other reproductions of the work. For instance, Andy Warhol used the Mona Lisa in the creation of one of his prints, and Botero reproduced his own version of The Mona Lisa, a cartoon-like oil painting. In 1954, Salvador Dali created a self-portrait of himself as Mona Lisa.

The use of The Mona Lisa does not end there; The Mona Lisa has been the inspiration behind countless novelty items including clothing, jewelry, houseware, as well as having been used in many modern day advertisements. La Gioconda has even been reproduced topless, and the Da Vinci poster has been turned into a mockery with the Mona Lisa in possession of marijuana, and even sporting hair curlers or braces.

The list goes on and on, and it is probably safe to assume that the Da Vinci posters and the extraordinary painting will continuously be tampered with to create a new Mona Lisa time and time again.

leonardo da vinci's The complete works

  leonardo da vinci's

 The complete works

Leonardo di ser Piero da Vinci (April 15, 1452 – May 2, 1519) was an Italian polymath, having been a scientist, mathematician, engineer, inventor, anatomist, painter, sculptor, architect, botanist, musician and writer. Born as the illegitimate son of a notary, Piero da Vinci, and a peasant girl, Caterina, at Vinci in the region of Florence, Leonardo was educated in the studio of the renowned Florentine painter, Verrocchio. Much of his earlier working life was spent in the service of Ludovico il Moro in Milan. He later worked in Rome, Bologna and Venice, spending his final years in France at the home given to him by King François I.

Leonardo has often been described as the archetype of the "Renaissance man", a man whose seemingly infinite curiosity was equalled only by his powers of invention. He is widely considered to be one of the greatest painters of all time and perhaps the most diversely talented person ever to have lived. 


It is primarily as a painter that Leonardo was and is renowned. Two of his works, the Mona Lisa and The Last Supper occupy unique positions as the most famous, most reproduced and most parodied portrait and religious painting of all time, their fame approached only by Michelangelo's Creation of Adam. Leonardo's drawing of the Vitruvian Man is also iconic. Perhaps fifteen of his paintings survive, the small number due to his constant, and frequently disastrous, experimentation with new techniques, and his chronic procrastination. Nevertheless, these few works together with his notebooks, which contain drawings, scientific diagrams, and his thoughts on the nature of painting, comprise a contribution to later generations of artists only rivalled by that of his contemporary, Michelangelo.

As an engineer, Leonardo's ideas were vastly ahead of his time. He conceptualised a helicopter, a tank, concentrated solar power, a calculator, the double hull and outlined a rudimentary theory of plate tectonics. Relatively few of his designs were constructed or were even feasible during his lifetime, but some of his smaller inventions, such as an automated bobbin winder and a machine for testing the tensile strength of wire, entered the world of manufacturing unheralded.[d] As a scientist, he greatly advanced the state of knowledge in the fields of anatomy, civil engineering, optics, and hydrodynamics. (From Wikipedia)

Leonardo da Vinci

 

Leonardo Da Vinci's Life

A painter, a sculptor, an architect and an engineer, Leonardo Da Vinci's numerous skills have earned him the title of renaissance master. Da Vinci's fascination with science and his in-depth study of human anatomy aided him in mastering the realist art form. While Leonardo's counterparts were known to create static figures in their works, Leonardo always tried to incorporate movement and expression into his own paintings. All the personages in his works are painted with great accuracy and detail that it is sometimes said that Da Vinci painted from the bones outward. 


Having lived until the age of 67, Leonardo experienced a very long career that was filled with times during which the painter was celebrated, but at times he was also humiliated and cast away. His life experiences all influenced his works and often, his paintings never left the sketchpad, or were only partially completed, as Leonardo often abandoned his commissions in order to flee from social situations.