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A Leonardo Masterpiece in Milan
 

Painted on a wall for the reigning power family of Milan. Commissioned by the House of Sforza for a wall that was to be part of the family mausoleum attached to the Convent of Santa Maria delle Grazie… The Last Supper.

I thought it was a painting on a canvas. I had no idea that it was a mural in a room and was roughly 15x29 feet on the north wall. I had no idea that DaVinci’s trial of a new technique for painting on walls was not all that successful and that it began to deteriorate within a hundred years. Or that it was used by monks as a dinner hall and they cut off the center bottom to make a door from the dining hall to the kitchen….Or that it was also the place used by Napoleon Bonaparte as a barn for his horses as he rode in to conquer Milan and become the King of Italy. Or that its early restorations covered up a lot of original work, Or that its building was bombed during the Second World War, that it was one of the items that was successfully protected by the American artists and art historians whose work it was to save the treasures of Europe during WWII. Or that it was so dirty and covered over that it was often thought to be beyond saving.

And here we stood in front of it. Awed. Humbled. Profoundly moved.

I didn’t know that Leonardo’s notes tell the story of how he decided to depict the moment after Jesus’ announcement that one of his followers would betray him. I didn’t know about how he used a person for each of the disciples and took a great deal of time to build a story that shows each of their reactions and speaks to the character of each of them and how subtly he points to Judas who sits among them. I didn’t know about grouping them in threes as three is a sacred number…the number of the trinity. I didn’t know that the painting was so much a complete story, with movement and drama and chaos and emotion. I didn’t really know about the technique that Leonardo used with string lines on the wall to make certain that the face of Jesus was the focal point of the painting.

I didn’t know how powerful it was. I didn’t know that it would bring tears to my eyes. I didn’t know that both of us would be so grateful to have had the opportunity to see this magnificent piece of work. That we would be able to feel its power and life.

It is a treasure that is being carefully guarded and your time in small groups is limited to 15 minutes with explanations by guides who have been educated to point out its story lines. So if you are going to Milan make a reservation several months in advance, because you will not want to miss this opportunity. Humbled, awed and grateful. I feel certain you will feel it too.

 
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