Comparison of Leonardo and Tintoretto's Last Supper Paintings

Leonardo’s da Vinci’s “The Last Supper” is a very famous and worshipped oil painting. It was a Renaissance masterpiece full of perspective. Leonardo da Vinci was commissioned to paint “The Last Supper,” his technique and style, however, were entirely up to him. The setting of the painting was the refectory, the dining hall, of the Monastery of Santa Maria delle Grazie in Milan, Italy. The painting portrays Leonardo’s visual interpretation of the night before Christ was betrayed by one of his disciples. Christ called his disciples together to eat and tell them that he knew what was coming.

“The Last Supper” is said to be “one of the greatest masterpieces of all time”. The painting shows a portrait of Christ’s last supper with his disciples at the exact moment that Christ announces that there is a traitor among the disciples and each of their own personal reactions. Unlike many other paintings of the last supper, Leonardo chose to include Judas in with the rest of the disciples, adding to the many reasons why this piece of work such a masterpiece. Though it is a widely known painting, getting a glimpse of it is not at all easy. Only twenty people are allowed to view it at once, and each group is only allowed 15 minutes to view it.

Fresco began in the thirteenth century at the time of Renaissance in Italy. This period is the culmination of the European mural art, many famous artists are involved in this exploration to create, the art of mural has been an unprecedented increase. The School of Athens and The Last Supper both are representational works of the Renaissance, have obvious similarities on perspective in composition. This essay will compare these works in the aspects of content, composition techniques and conception.

Vinci’s painting of the Last Supper. This picture displays Jesus sitting at the table with

While the Flemish were proficient in oil painting, Italian Renaissance artists continued their predecessor’s use of tempera. Furthermore, the paintings were ultimately created for different purposes and separate viewers. Although both works are centered on the defining moment of the annunciation, The Merode Altarpiece incorporates this scene into a secular setting, therefore differing from Fra Angelico’s The Annunciation which was painted for a monastery. Finally, Flemish and Italian Renaissance paintings differ in levels of realism. Although the Flemish painters were skilled in portraying realism of physical forms, they lacked a full understanding of linear perspective. In contrast, the Italian Renaissance artists were well versed in linear perspective but lacked a complete grasp of the natural

Albury, W. R., and G. M. Weisz. "Depicting the Bread of the Last Supper:Religious Representation in Italian Renaissance Society." Journal of Religion and Society. 11. (2009): 1-17. Print.

...ed a newer style of depicting historical and religious moments. Much of the artwork that was created during this time clearly shows the influence that Christianity had during this time period. Many artists have taken biblical stories and accounts and created their own artistic representations. Some of these works include the painting of “The Last Supper” and the ceiling of the Sistine Chapel.

There has been few works of art that have created as much esteem, contestation and conjecture as The Last Supper, which was completed by Da Vinci in 1498. The painting depicts the scene of the last supper of Jesus with his disciples as depicted in the gospel of John 13:21: “When Jesus had said these things, he was troubled in the Spirit, and testified, and said, Verily, verily I say unto you, that one of you shall betray me.” The painting shows all of the disciples, Bartholomew, James, Andrew, Judas, Peter, John, Thomas, James the greater, Philip, Matthew, Jude Thaddeus, and Simon the zealot, all which are surprised by the accusation that Jesus made onto them, as depicted by Leonardo Da Vinci. What is the most captivating about this painting is not what we know, but what we don’t know. In other words, it is the enigma of this painting that enamors.

The author first introduces Caravaggio as a son of a stonemason, during this period of was one of the deepest religious fevers. The new archbishop, Carlo Borromeo, was returning for a Christian Piety due to the bubonic plague that wiped out one fifth of the Diocese that resided in Milan. During this time, the Counter-Reformation culture was very popular and figures such as Ignatius Loyola and Carlo Borromeo were very influential. Both men tried to inspire the common folk by focusing on the sacrifice of Christ by empathizing on his suffering on the cross and other stories that was central to Christianity. Carlo Borromeo believed that the visual representation of Christ must be vivid, while empathizing on his suffering and sacrifices, hoping that it will make the image grander. That is why during this time, most of the popular religious artworks emphasized on a dark, realistic, gruesome image that contrasts the delicate and light style of the Florentine craft. Caravaggio’s art style was so revolutionary that it shock most of his viewers due to its realism combined with the dynamic lighting and vivid visuals. It made many artists re-evaluate all of art’s goals and the duties of an artist. Andrew Graham-Dixon empowers Caravaggio with a sense of rich visual heritage and a desire to create a very visually stunning quality in his art – a desire that will inspire him to push the limits of his work that will deepen as time pass.

Leonardo’s painting played a huge part in the Christian religion. The Last Supper is extremely old and delicate painting that is has been undergoing multiple restorations for nearly 200 years. A large part of the blame lies with Leonardo da Vinci himself of course. Idealistically he chose to complete his masterpiece with oil paint, a far less reliable medium in Renaissance times than today, rather than with the fast-drying and stable watercolor fresco technique. Within five years the painting was already crumbling ("THE LAST SUPPER, LEONARDO DA VINCI, MILAN, ITALY - INFORMATION AND BOOKING.").

The Fresco depicts the second coming of Christ on the day of the last judgment. All human beings are awakened from their death to face the Judge, C...

In the two different depictions of the scene Betrayal of Christ, Duccio and Giotto show their different styles on how they compose their paintings. The first decision into the composure of the painting would be the comparison of the size of surface they chose to paint on. Duccio in comparison to Giotto chooses to work on a wooden panel no wider than a foot, and Giotto went with a plaster surface with a width of ten feet. This detail alone lets the viewer know that Giotto’s artwork is embedded in detail and visual consumption. The size difference is the factor between who see’s it and what they see; the fine details and symbolism of the narrative will be better understood if the viewer can see every detail.

The artists of the Baroque had a remarkably different style than artists of the Renaissance due to their different approach to form, space, and composition. This extreme differentiation in style resulted in a very different treatment of narrative. Perhaps this drastic stylistic difference between the Renaissance and Baroque in their treatment of form, space, and composition and how these characteristics effect the narrative of a painting cannot be seen more than in comparing Perugino’s Christ Delivering the Keys of the Kingdom to St. Peter from the Early Renaissance to Caravaggio’s Conversion of St. Paul from the Baroque.Perugino was one of the greatest masters of the Early Renaissance whose style ischaracterized by the Renaissance ideals of purity, simplicity, and exceptional symmetry of composition. His approach to form in Christ Delivering the Keys of the Kingdom to St.Peter was very linear. He outlined all the figures with a black line giving them a sense of stability, permanence, and power in their environment, but restricting the figures’ sense of movement. In fact, the figures seem to not move at all, but rather are merely locked at a specific moment in time by their rigid outline. Perugino’s approach to the figures’themselves is extremely humanistic and classical. He shines light on the figures in a clear, even way, keeping with the rational and uncluttered meaning of the work. His figures are all locked in a contrapposto pose engaging in intellectual conversation with their neighbor, giving a strong sense of classical rationality. The figures are repeated over and over such as this to convey a rational response and to show the viewer clarity. Perugino’s approach to space was also very rational and simple. He organizes space along three simple planes: foreground, middle ground, and background. Christ and Saint Peter occupy the center foreground and solemn choruses of saints and citizens occupy the rest of the foreground. The middle distance is filled with miscellaneous figures, which complement the front group, emphasizing its density and order, by their scattered arrangement. Buildings from the Renaissance and triumphal arches from Roman antiquity occupy the background, reinforcing the overall classical message to the

The Last Judgement by Michelangelo is the most preeminent representation of Italian Renaissance fine art, and undoubtedly the most valuable piece of the era. Characteristics of Italian Renaissance artwork are present throughout the painting. Realism, perspective, individualism, light & shadowing and are the most prominent qualities of this painting. Particularly, realism is expressed through the nudity of the people displayed in the painting, not every person’s body is perfect, ideally many bodies have flaws. Realism and expression are shown when “the proportions of his figures grew… more menacing… [and] seething with nudity” (1). The people behind the altar of the Chapel were naked with indecent expressions, displaying individual

The Last Supper is one of the most sacred events of Christian History. According to the bible, it is the last gathering that Christ and his apostles shared before he was crucified. Most depictions of this time period focused on the moment of the beginning of the Eucharist; the moment when Jesus gives up his body and blood to the apostles and mankind. However, Da Vinci's Last Supper was the first to portray the moment right after Jesus predicts that one of his apostles will betray him. Why the moment of betrayal? Why was this one different? In order to begin to answer this question, one must first look at three subjects; the Dominicans of Santa Maria delle Grazie and the Sforza family; their involvement with the Dominicans and the story of Judas' betrayal and how it is portrayed in the painting. These subjects may hold the keys to answering the question; why did Leonardo Da Vinci decide to stray from the normal depictions of the ...