Last Supper - (1498) Convent of Sta. Maria delle Grazie, Milan, Italy

The Last Supper (in Italian, Il Cenacolo or L'Ultima Cena) is a painting by Leonardo da Vinci for his patron Duke Lodovico Sforza. It represents the scene of The Last Supper from the final days of Jesus as depicted in the Christian Bible. The painting is based on John 13:21, in which Jesus announced that one of his 12 disciples would betray him. The painting is one of the most well known and valued in the world; unlike many other valuable paintings, however, it has never been privately owned because it cannot be moved.

The work measures 460 × 880 cm and can be found in the refectory of the convent of Santa Maria delle Grazie in Milan. The theme was a traditional one for refectories, but Leonardo's interpretation gave it much greater realism and depth. The lunettes above the main painting, formed by the triple arched ceiling of the refectory, are painted with Sforza coats-of-arms. The opposite wall of the refectory is covered by a Crucifixion fresco by Donato Montorfano, to which Leonardo added figures of the Sforza family in tempera. (These figures have deteriorated in much the same way as has The Last Supper.) Leonardo began work on The Last Supper in 1495 and completed it in 1498 — however, he did not work on the piece continuously throughout this period.

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