… Why the claim that he painted The Last Supper for 11 year is inaccurate
(From Paul Strathern’s book, “The Artist, the Philosopher, and the Warrior” — The intersecting lives of Da Vinci, Machiavelli, and Borgia and the world they shaped, published 2009 by Random House, pages 23-24.)
Compiled by Osa Mbonu-Amadi.
Given all these preoccupations, it is hardly surprising that Leonardo (Da Vinci) had little time for painting. In fact, during his seventeen years in Milan he completed only six works, though amongst these were some of the finest that would come from his brush—most notably, “The Last Supper”. This mural, painted in the refectory of the Dominican monastery of Santa Maria delle Grazie in Milan, reveals Leonardo at his superlative best. His ever-innovative painterly skills had reached their zenith, and in his tireless quest for originality he chose an entirely new approach to fresco painting. A firsthand description of Leonardo at work by the young Matteo Bandello, a novice at the monastery, shows the immense pains that Leonardo would take over his work:
“He would arrive at an early hour, climb up onto the scaffolding, and start working. Sometimes he would stay there from dawn until sunset, not once setting down his brush, forgetting to eat or drink, and painting without cease. On other occasions he would go for two, three or four days without taking up his brush, but spending one or two hours a day standing before the work, arms folded, scrutinizing and assessing the figures in his mind. I also saw him, driven by some sudden urge, set out from the Corte Vecchia at midday when the heat of the sun was at its height, without seeking the shade…and come straight to Santa Maria delle Grazie, clamber up onto the scaffolding, take up his brush, add one or two strokes, and then go away again.”
Every face, every feature, every position and gesture of the twelve disciples at the table with Christ was the result of profound artistic meditation. Each figure is individual, each taken from someone he had noticed—and covertly sketched in the pocket-book he kept hanging from his belt. Yet each figure is both psychologically and symbolically recognizable—from doubting Thomas with his fated raised finger, to the effete intellectual Luke—all enclosed within the strong geometric shapes of the upper room, whose perspective continually leads the eye back to the central figure of Christ, then allows it to pass away along each line of gesturing disciples, creating a drama filled with prescience.
Unfortunately, Leonardo took so much time completing “The Last Supper” that eventually the prior of the monastery, who had commissioned the painting, became exasperated beyond all patience and complained to Ludovico Sforza (Duke of Milan), who summoned Leonardo to account for himself, Leonardo explained that the painting was all but finished, except for the face of Judas; this was because, despite searching through the most notorious streets and taverns of the city, he had yet to find a face imbued with sufficient perfidious evil. However, if the prior required the painting finished at once, Leonardo assured Ludovico that he was willing to use the prior’s face for Judas. Ludovico is said to have laughed at this, and Leonardo got his way.
The result is what Burckhardt would aptly characterize as “this restless masterpiece.” But if this was Leonardo at his best, it was also Leonardo at his worst. Despite the length of time he spent on the painting, he proved he was unwilling, or unable, to finish it. One of the reasons he was able to spend so long on the painting was his innovative approach to fresco technique, which involved using oil and tempera rather than fresh plaster. This enabled him to proceed in an unhurried fashion, and to alter the figures as he went along, rather than limiting his painting to the short period while the surface was still fresh (fresco). Leonardo’s bold experiment would result in disaster: over the years the surface would begin to deteriorate, a situation made worse by the dampness that began appearing on the wall, so that by the time the Florentine artist and biographer Giorgio Vasari saw The Last Supper just over fifty years later, “all that could be seen was a blur of paint-dabs,”
NOTE
Although Leonardo Da Vinci was said to have spent 17 years in Milan, he did not start working for Ludovico Sforza (who commissioned him to paint “The Last Supper”) until Ludovico Sforza usurped 8-year-old Gian Galeazzo’s power and took over as regent after Gian Galeazzo’s father, Duke Galeazzo, was assassinated in 1494. Leonardo Da Vinci left Milan in December 1499 after the French invasion and occupation.
It therefore means that altogether, Leonardo Da Vinci must have worked for Ludovico Sforza, the new Duke who commissioned “The Last Supper”, for only 5 years (1494-1499). So, he couldn’t have painted “The Last Supper” for 11 years as the video claims!
Besides, it would been on record, if Leonardo Da Vinci had painted “The Last Supper” for a whole 11 years – Arts writers like us would have read about it.
