Leonardo Da Vinci and the Renaissance Artwork
Leonardo Da Vinci was a well-known artist during the Renaissance period. Aside from his contributions to mathematics and numerous developments, he was a well-known painter of his day.
The Last Supper: A Masterpiece of Renaissance Art
One of his portraits, The Last Supper, completed in the late 15th century, is considered a masterpiece of genius and depicts significant characteristics of Renaissance architecture.
Focusing on Christian Imagery
The primary goal of this paper is to examine the Renaissance artwork, the Last Supper, and demonstrate why it counts as a Renaissance artwork. One of the main characteristics of Renaissance artwork is its focus on the Christian religious imagery, borrowing from classical influences of the ancient Roman and Greek art, while at the same time making use of mathematical and scientific principles of the time to bring about depth and realism in the art (Dominiczak 961).
The Blend of Science and Creativity
Renaissance artists, such as Da Vinci, were both scientific and creative in their works. To make the paintings more realistic, artists employed techniques such as perspective and foreshortening to bring about an illusion of three dimensions in their pieces. Painters, in a bid to further improve the quality of their works, created new oil paint blends, adopting the oil-in-canvas as the preferred medium.
The Last Supper: Depicting the Betrayal
The Last Supper, by Leonardo Da Vinci, depicts the scene from the last days of Jesus Christ, as narrated in the Gospel of John 13:21. Flanked by his twelve disciples, Jesus has just made it clear to them that one of them is destined to betray him (Dominiczak 962).
Complexity and Renaissance Aesthetics
Leonardo, thus imagined, and to some extent succeeded in expressing a desire that has gripped the minds of the disciples to know who is about to betray Jesus Christ. Leonardo, in the painting, depicts the reaction of each apostle to the news. Although to some the painting may look like a straightforward piece of biblical artwork, it is a complex piece, combining mathematical symbolism, use of perspective and dramatic focus, and psychological complexity, to produce a Renaissance aesthetics.
The Portrayal of Christ and Symbolism
The portrayal of Christ shows the renaissance single point linear perspective. Several architectural features converge on the figure of Jesus, with his head representing the vanishing point for all the perspective lines in the painting (Dominiczak 965). It is also important to note that his expansive gesture, indicating the sacraments in front of him, is not for the disciples, but for the monks and nuns at the monastery where Da Vinci painted the piece.
Mathematical Symbolism and Holy Trinity
Leonardo also used some mathematical symbolism, such as the illusion of the number three. He used the number three in various ways to symbolize the holy trinity. For example, the sitting arrangement of the disciples is in groups of three. The number of windows in the painting is also three. Leonardo also gives the figure of Christ a triangular shape, as shown by his head and the two outstretched arms (Dominiczak 962). Leonardo also uses symbolic references to identify specific disciples. For example, Peter, who is sitting next to Judas, is holding a knife, thereby predicting Peter's confrontation with a soldier in a bid to rescue Christ. Judas, on the other hand, is recognizable because he is holding a purse containing his monetary reward from the authorities.
The Last Supper: A Classic Renaissance Artwork
The decision by Leonardo to depict the Last Supper makes it a classical Renaissance artwork because of its focus on the Christian religion. The use of mathematical symbolism, such as the illusions of the number three, and the triangular shape of Christ, all point to the style of Renaissance artwork. Other styles also used include perspective and dramatic focus, and psychological complexity, renowned styles of the Renaissance artwork.
Work Cited
Dominiczak, Marek H. “Observation and creativity: Leonardo da Vinci.” Clinical Chemistry, vol. 58, no. 5, 2012, pp. 960-961.
