Comparing the Last Supper

Comparing The Last Supper

By Throll Ballen

One of the most famous works of art in the history of the world has a name that is recognized by almost any one in today's society. There have been books and movies that contain this piece of artwork in it's storyline. The idea of Jesus the son of God at his famous last supper have been painted about, written about, and documented in the Bible. So many different perceptions of this event has been portrayed through out our world's history. The most famous piece of artwork about this event in time is Leonardo de Vinci's version called The Last Supper. Another work of art that was created around this event and contains the same name was painted by Tintoretto in 1594. These two paintings are based on the same event but contain two very different perspectives.

Leonardo de Vinci's version of The Last Supper is one of the most valuable and well known paintings in the world. This artwork was started in 1495 and completed in 1498 as a mural in the Santa Maria delle Grazie located in Milan, Italy. This mural was created for Leonardo's patron Duke Ludovico Sforza and his duchess Beatrice d'Este. In both versions of these paintings the event represents the scene of The Last Supper from the final days of Jesus as narrated in the Gospel of John 13:21, when Jesus announces that one of his twelve disciples would betray him. Leonardo's version measures 15 by 29 feet in size, and with in his interpretation contains great realism and depth.

Leonardo's painting is wonderful and he did a fantastic job completing the task that was assigned to him. The Last Supper painting tries to envision one of the most significant parts of Jesus' sacrifice and emotion is invoked through Leonard's interpretation of this moment in history. Even though it does make you think, it only leads you to think about the physical and what evil lies in men, not in what can not be seen. To look upon Leonardo's version you are able to see the room in which the supper takes place. The windows behind Jesus reveal that it is still light outside meaning that the sun had yet to set on that day during the time that the supper had happened. Gazing upon the mountains in the distance through the windows you can gain a sense of the landscape and draw a conclusion on what part of the region they were located. The light from the windows reveals to us the color of the walls as it pours into the room. With the ominous light it gives us an idea of the texture of the ceiling. The image is also closer to the table and the people sitting at it, giving us a sense of being in the same room as Jesus. The color tones of this painting either due to the artist preference or just deterioration contains natural hues that are calming, containing the easy relaxing effect of pastels. All these things contribute to this masterpiece.

The layout of this artwork shows the event in a simple manner. This is due to the era that it was constructed in and Leonardo's idea of how this event would of looked from his eyes. In the painting itself everything that is physical can be seen, and there is nothing obvious telling us that there are other being's presence in the room. The imagination is not directed to wonder about anything else but the betrayal of the one apostle that Jesus speaks about. Being the last supper for Jesus the idea of angels or supernatural presence of any kind are not apparent, but surely could have been a possibility. I find this painting to have lots of meaning and value, although the shock factor is not as high as the version that Tintoretto painted in my opinion. This I believe is what makes Tintoretto's version much more engaging.

Tintoretto painted The Last Supper in a total different perspective that Leonardo da Vinci had. When looking upon Tintoretto's version you seem to be peering through a window at the event taking place inside. There is an absence of windows and the room looks dark, robbing us of the information about the color and textures of the walls. The oil lamp is the only item giving off light,(that is unless you believe that is light that Jesus's head is glowing with) giving