Leonardo da Vinci’s Milan Masterpiece
There are a lot of things I’ve never done, but there are only a few things I kick myself for never doing. UnIn a few years ago, I had never viewed Cenacolo, Leonard’s famous Last Supper, in person. Kind of a big deal for someone who travels for art, travels frequently to Milan and lives in Italy full time. Why hadn’t I made any time to see a history-defying painting which has survived bombings and bad restorations?
I call it Pigrizia cenacolosa, Last Supper laziness, which is a close cousin of pigrizia sistiniana, the act of living in Rome without having ever visited the Sistine Chapel. And it’s common. There are a lot of us residents who have never set foot in the Piazza di Santa Maria delle Grazie or Piazza San Pietro, and I totally I get it. It’s not always easy to visit the most important art historical site in your city, much less your country, especially when you live in the neighborhood. I decided to change that.
The Last Supper Miracle
In 1495, Duke of Milan Ludovico Sforza commissioned Leonardo to create a mural for the refectory of the Dominican monastery Santa Maria delle Grazie. Leonardo painted a fresco depicting a moment from the Gospel of John in which Jesus, at dinner with his 12 apostles, announces that one will betray him. Leonardo completed the painting in three years, and then took off for France.
The painting loomed over refectory diners for centuries, inviting the monks and priests to think about the miracle feast and its repurcussion, but the true miracle happened on August 15, 1943, the feast of the Assumption, when the painting survived a high-explosive bomb that landed a mere 80 feet away. The building was nearly destroyed, its roof and cloister collapsed, and walls were blown out. The Last Supper remained standing.
What’s it Like to Visit the Last Supper
Visiting the Last Supper is an intense 15 minutes. When I visited, I waited in line with the other guests before entering the hermetically-sealed former dining hall. The rectangular room has been emptied of furniture and on its two far walls are two paintings: Giovanni Donato da Montorfano’s Crucifixion and Leonardo s’s Last Supper. Everyone crowded at the base of the Last Supper and ignored the Crucifixion.
Personally, I loved taking in the scene from the center of the room, even though you can stand as close as eight feet from the fresco. The Last Supper is enormous- 29 feet long by 15 feet high. An incredibly detailed scene, but it was standing far away that I could truly enjoy the mathematics of it all. Leonardo played with perspective by carefully setting up the scene. The invisible orthogonal lines drag your eyes to the table center. You can’t look away.
Later, I moved close to wall, waiting until the crowd dispersed. For about five minutes, I had the Last Supper all to myself. The movement, the figures (who were the models?), the details, it blew my mind. Following the visit was a tour of the Bramante-designed basilica and sacrestia, but I’ll be honest, it was all a beautiful blur since my mind was on the Last Supper.
FAQ
It’s a church, can’t I just pop in? While the Cenacolo is part of a church complex, you must reserve your tickets in advance.
Can I take pictures? Yes, photos are permitted but remember to turn off your flash.
Is it worth it? Yes, those fifteen minutes are definitely worth your time.
