The Last Supper (Leonardo da Vinci) Judas, and that if he could not find a face corresponding with what he had in mind, he would use the features of the prior who complained. "The Last Supper" specifically portrays the reaction given by each apostle when Jesus said one of them would betray him. All twelve apostles have different reactions to the news, with various degrees of anger and shock. The apostles are identified from a manuscript ("The Notebooks of Leonardo da Vinci" p. 232) with their names found in the 19th century. (Before this, only Judas, Peter, John and Jesus were positively identified.) From left to
The Last Supper (Leonardo da Vinci) Vinci Museum of the Tongerlo Abbey, Belgium. For this work, Leonardo sought a greater detail and luminosity than could be achieved with traditional fresco. He painted "The Last Supper" on a dry wall rather than on wet plaster, so it is not a true fresco. Because a fresco cannot be modified as the artist works, Leonardo instead chose to seal the stone wall with a double layer of dried plaster. Then, borrowing from panel painting, he added an undercoat of white lead to enhance the brightness of the oil and tempera that was applied on top. This was a method