Copy of 'The Last Supper' by Leonardo da Vinci
The Royal Academy of Arts in London has more than 250 years hosting endless works . Due to the health crisis, the museum has had to close temporarily , but its collaboration with Google Arts & Culture gives us the opportunity to visit its spaces, immerse ourselves in his collection and soak up his stories.
One of its great jewels is Da Vinci's Last Supper replica the iconic mural painting, executed between 1495 and 1498, located in the refectory of the Dominican convent of Santa Maria delle Grazie (Milan) and that we can now contemplate from our homes.
The replica is owned by the Royal Academy in London
And for this, Google Arts & Culture has a digital tool that allows us to admire each brushstroke , every crack, in the finest detail, or, as **Luisella Mazza, global head of operations at Google Arts & Culture, put it, “make the invisible visible.” **
The painting of eight meters wide , is a copy of the one signed by the Italian painter and It was made almost at the same time as the original. The main difference was the way to execute it: the one that has been part of the property of the Royal Academy since 1821 is oil on canvas , while Leonardo's was painted in tempera and oil on a dry wall, which is why it has deteriorated seriously.
Although that Napoleon used the room where he was as a stable the original during his invasion of Milan also had something to do with it.
Made by Giampietrino and possibly Giovanni Antonio Boltraffio -both students of Leonardo-, the work constitutes the most precise record of mural painting, which is why it has been used to help its conservation.
Jesus announcing to his twelve apostles that one of them will betray him at dawn is the scene represented, being able to appreciate details that are not visible in the original , for example, the feet of Jesus, that were lost in the original when a door was built in the wall on which Da Vinci's work is painted or an overturned salt deposit next to the right arm of Judas **-symbol of bad omen in Western Europe-. **
The feet of Jesus cannot be seen in the original work
Secondly, poses, gestures and expressions, which for Leonardo should reflect the "notions of the mind", are displayed with great sharpness. For example, the face of Judas, who hours later would betray the Messiah, resides in shadow.
At the same time, this sample in high definition, allows us to know the symbology of certain elements of the composition that in situ would not be appreciated in the same way. The raised finger of the disciple Thomas refers to the resurrection of Jesus, when, before his incredulity, he tells him “Put your finger here, and look at my hands; stretch out your hand here and put it into my side.”
If we look at the figure of Judas, we can also see how he grabs a small sack of money, a reference to the 30 pieces of silver he received for revealing the identity of Jesus. Or, setting our sights on Peter, the apostle holds a knife as a prophecy that he would later cut off a soldier's ear while he tries to stop the arrest of Jesus.
To discover all these details, captured by Google Arts & Culture thanks to a gigapixel camera, as well as delight yourself with other works of the Royal Academy, visit this link.
Judas hand detail