Leonardo Da Vinci's Last Supper: Painting Analysis

On July 2nd, 2015, I took a trip the Salvador Dali Museum in Saint Petersburg where they showcased the Leonardo Da Vinci exhibit, which included numerous amounts of work that he did over his entire lifespan. Ranging all the way from the Mona Lisa to the Last Supper, Leonardo had a very unique style of portraying his painting, as well as being extremely talented with his blends and bending of multiple colors. Not only was he apart of the famous Renaissance painters who changed the way we looked at Italy, but he was also an extremely intelligent and talented man who has greatly influenced artwork for hundreds of years and will continue for many more generations.
Leonardo Da Vinci was born on 15 April 1452. He lived in Italy in the town of Vinci until as a teenager. He received a basic education in reading and writing as well as some training in mathematics and engineering. Although he was

socially excluded since birth from almost every profession and prohibited from attending a formal university, Leonardo went on to become an extremely recognized artist, scientist, and engineer. His research in mathematics, mechanics, cosmology, hydrodynamics, biology, botany, geology, geography, and anatomy suggest his clever skills and passion for many works. (Gilson, Hilary. "The Embryo Project Encyclopedia."). Leonardo's interests were so broad, and new subjects, that he usually failed to finish when he started, so often compelled him. This resulted in his completing only about six works in these 17 years, including "The Last Supper", “Mona Lisa” and "The Virgin on the Rocks”. He left dozens of paintings and projects unfinished or unrealized.
When it came to targeting an audience, the main person he was focused on was his contractor. He traveled between multiple cities to have his works and skills put to use. He began providing services for the Duke of Milan in 1482, abandoning his first contract in Florence. The Duke kept him busy painting, sculpting and designing elaborate court festivals ("Museum of Science, Boston.").
After the invasion by the French and Ludovico Sforza's fall from power in 1499, Leonardo was left to search for a new contractor. Over the next 16 years, Leonardo worked and traveled throughout many Italian cities for a number of employers, including Cesare Borgia ("Museum of Science, Boston."). From 1513 to 1516, he worked in Rome, maintaining a workshop and undergoing a variety of projects for the Pope. Following the death of his patron Giuliano de' Medici in March of 1516, he was offered the title of Premier Painter and Engineer and Architect of the King by Francis I in France ("Museum of Science, Boston.").
Many of Leonardo’s paintings were portrayed in the museum with a mix of Salvador Dali’s, who was greatly influenced by Leonardo Da Vinci and many other famous Renaissance painters as well during his time. A great theme struck me when I took a deep look into these paintings, and that was the religious and human anatomy premise. The Cardiovascular System and Principle Organs of a Women and Anatomical Sketch Two Studies of a Human Skull showed his great fascination amongst the anatomy of the human body and he would use corpse for his works as well. He continued his studies of human anatomy and physiology, but the Pope forbade him from dissecting cadavers ("Museum of Science, Boston.").
According to The Embryo Project Encyclopedia, amongst his numerous contributions, Leonardo is most famous for his artwork, anatomical drawings, and imaginative mechanical structures that influenced his natural philosophy and served to frame his early fascination with embryological studies. His embryological annotations and drawings of the fetus represent his groundbreaking curiosity and scientific method in depicting the human form in utmost detail (Gilson, Hilary. "The Embryo Project Encyclopedia."). The drawings of the fetus in the womb showed Leonardo’s interest in embryology, and Salvador Dali was greatly influenced by it witch lead to his painting of Pre Natal Memory.
His historical painting of The Last Supper stood out to me as well.

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 Last Supper's initial appearances as Christian iconography conveyed two main ideas that were passed into the Gospel about the reference to the betrayal of Jesus Christ. These ideas were realized in prior portraits with images of Judas and Jesus as well. His conception of the theme was completely dominated by the idea of bringing out the announcement of the betrayal as the dramatic central theme. ("Last Supper -

History.")
Leonardo’s style was extremely unique, and that is what has leaded him to be one of the most well recognized painters of all time. Leonardo's intense concentration and hesitant manner of execution did not suit the commonly used medium for mural painting, in which the pigment had to be applied immediately before having the plaster dried, preventing any changes during the course of execution. Leonardo devised his own technique for mural painting, a sort of tempera on stone ("Last Supper - History.").
My trip to the Salvador Dali museum was quite fascinating, as I expected it to be. Leonardo Da Vinci is a worldwide famous painter who has been recognized and appreciated for many centuries for his amazing polymath. He brought great class through his styles of painting as well as imagery and greatly influenced the Christian religion as well through a few of his paintings that probably will never be forgotten. It is quite easy to see why the Salvador Dali Museum had his exhibits portrayed. A must see exhibit for the average goer just so they can have a taste of history.