-Linear perspective orthogonal of the ceiling and floor point to Jesus -Apostles are grouped in sets of three -Jesus is alone before a group of three windows, a symbol of the Trinity -A rounded pediment over Jesus’s head acts as a symbolic halo; Leonardo subtlety suggests Jesus’s divinity Materials: Leonardo experimented with a combination of paints to yield a greater chiaroscuro; however, the paints began to peel off the wall in Leonardo’s lifetime. As a result, the painting has been restored many times and is a shadow of itself
--Great drama of the moment: Jesus says, “One of you will betray me”(Mathew 26:21); Jesus also blesses the bread and wine, creating a sacred Eucharist(Mathew 26:21). –Various reactions on the faces of the apostles: surprise, fear, anger, denial, suspicion; anguish on the face of Jesus -Judas, the betrayer, falls back clutching his bag of coins; his face is symbolically in darkness. -The only Leonardo da Vinci work remaining in situ
-Painted for the refectory, or dining hall, of an abbey of friars -A relationship is drawn between the friars eating and a biblical meal
Context
-Patronage: Commissioned by the Sforza family of Milan for the refectory of a Dominican abbey