Conservation-restoration of Leonardo da Vinci's The Last Supper until 1498. The scene is understood to depict the Bible verse John 13:22, showing the reactions of the Twelve Disciples, at the Last Supper, in the moments following Jesus’s announcement that one among them will betray him. When he received the commission for "The Last Supper", Leonardo da Vinci had never worked on a piece of this great a size, fifteen feet high by almost twenty-nine feet wide. He also had very limited experience working in the technique known as fresco, mixing pigment into wet plaster to create a permanent bond. Traditionally, fresco painters put down many successive layers of
Conservation-restoration of Leonardo da Vinci's The Last Supper 1517, Leonardo da Vinci's "The Last Supper" had already started to deteriorate. This fact was noted in many diaries and letters of the time. The corrosion of the work can be accredited to Leonardo’s unconventional painting technique for a work on a wall, as well as the surface itself. The refectory of Santa Maria delle Grazie sits in a low-lying part of the city, partial to flooding and dampness. The reverse of the wall on which Leonardo painted is an exterior wall and would have absorbed moisture. The painting was also exposed to the steam and smoke from the convent’s