Commissioned by the Tyrant of Milan for his late wife and based in the Convent of Santa Maria delle Grazie, a Christian place of worship in Milan, the work spanned the length of the wall that it was painted onto. An oil and tempera finish gave the painting a fresco-like appearance. Within the piece, a large dinner table lined the foreground, and Jesus and his twelve disciples were positioned around the table (with Jesus at the center). As the moment being depicted took place after Jesus said to his disciples, “Verily I say unto you that one of you will betray me.” (Matthew 26:21), Leonardo illustrated a scene of chaos, in which almost all of the twelve disciples (with the exception of Judas, who ends up betraying his teacher) had a reaction of either shock, dismay, or doubt. James Major, the disciple seated to the right of Jesus was shown holding out his arms in a clearly stunned manner as if he was commanding the room to be still. Moreover, Jesus, himself, at the center of this confusion had a look of serenity and calmness. However, this was all intentional- as envisioned by
Commissioned by the Tyrant of Milan for his late wife and based in the Convent of Santa Maria delle Grazie, a Christian place of worship in Milan, the work spanned the length of the wall that it was painted onto. An oil and tempera finish gave the painting a fresco-like appearance. Within the piece, a large dinner table lined the foreground, and Jesus and his twelve disciples were positioned around the table (with Jesus at the center). As the moment being depicted took place after Jesus said to his disciples, “Verily I say unto you that one of you will betray me.” (Matthew 26:21), Leonardo illustrated a scene of chaos, in which almost all of the twelve disciples (with the exception of Judas, who ends up betraying his teacher) had a reaction of either shock, dismay, or doubt. James Major, the disciple seated to the right of Jesus was shown holding out his arms in a clearly stunned manner as if he was commanding the room to be still. Moreover, Jesus, himself, at the center of this confusion had a look of serenity and calmness. However, this was all intentional- as envisioned by