Patrick Demetrio Rhetorical Analysis Multimedia Writing and Rhetoric Jeff Bain-Conkin 4 October 2012 Da Vincis Last Supper

Leonardo da Vinci is arguably one of the greatest painters to have lived. He painted during the High Italian Renaissance. He lived at the same time as other greats such as Michelangelo and Raphael. One of his most famous paintings is The Last Supper, which happens to hang in the South Dining Hall here at Notre Dame. There have been many different depictions of this bible story throughout history by many different painters, but da Vincis version is by far the most well know. The main point of this painting is to illustrate the important Biblical story of The Last Supper and show the importance and divinity of Jesus. The Last Supper depicts the Biblical story of Jesus last meal before his death. He gathers his closest friends, his Apostles. He eats with them and he tells them of his impending fate and that one of the Apostles will betray him. The Apostles react in uproar and are disbelieving of Jesus. In da Vincis painting, Jesus is eating with his twelve Apostles, six on each side. All thirteen of them are sitting on the same side of the table. Each side has a cluster of 3 Apostles. On Jesus right, our left as we view it, the apostle closest to Jesus is leaning away from him. Next to that apostle are two others who are leaning over to talk to each other. Next to those three, at the end of the table, are three. They are leaning towards each other and the one closest to Jesus has his hand raised in a surprised manner. On the other side of Jesus, the three closest to him are leaning towards him, seemingly conversing with Jesus. The last

three apostles are at the end of the table talking amongst themselves. The closest one to Jesus has his arms pointed at Jesus as if he is saying, Can you believe what he just said? The background is rather simple. It is just the inside of a building with two windows and a door at the very back, only the blue sky and some hills can be seen outside. Da Vinci uses lines very well to make the room seem threedimensional, with the Jesus and the Disciples in the front and the windows and door at the back. This makes the painting look more like a realistic and seem like it is a depiction of what actually happened. Da Vinci also uses colors very well. He does not use any colors that would stick out on their own. They are more darker reds, blues, and greens. These colors are only on the clothes of Jesus and the Apostles. Jesus is the only person wearing a standard color of red; the other Apostles are wearing more of an orange. Red is associated with blood and sacrifice. This seems to foreshadow Jesus fate. Da Vinci makes these colors stick out by using even darker colors in the background. He uses lots of browns and greys in the walls that make the Apostles stick out, showing their importance. The only bright colors Da Vinci uses in the whole painting are in the very background, outside the windows. He uses a light blue to paint the sky and a light green to paint the mountains. The Apostles leaning away from Jesus and the sky and mountains in the background create a halo effect around Jesus. There is also an arch painted just above the doorway that furthers this effect. This effect shows the importance and divinity of Jesus. Da Vinci illustrates this Bible story well. He shows the disciples disbelief in Jesus telling them that he will die and that one of the disciples will betray him. Also,

the closest disciples leaning away and the lines of the background lead to Jesus and make him the central focus of the artwork. This highlights the importance of Jesus. This is the beginning of the events that eventually lead to his death for our sins. Da Vinci also uses darkness to make Jesus the focus. The background and sides are darker than right around Jesus. This once again shows his importance. The halo effect that is created around Jesus head also shows his divinity. It is as if he is the light at the center of our lives. There are also many other meanings of the contents of the painting. Da Vinci may or many not have purposely made reference to the Holy number three multiple times. The Apostles are in clusters of three, there are three windows in back, and Jesus is in the shape of a triangle, which represents the Holy Trinity. There is a lot of debate over who each disciple is. Many people believe the person sitting directly to Jesus right, our left as we view it, to be Mary Magdalene. Mary Magdalene is believed to be Jesus lover by some. Most people believe this to be John, who was very close to Jesus. Some people also believe that Da Vinci painted himself as one of the disciples. Many even believe to see hidden symbols in the painting. For example, some believe the chalice sitting in front of Jesus to be the long-desired Holy Grail. No matter how much we speculate, we many never be able to know Da Vincis exact intent for this painting. Da Vinci successfully achieves his purpose of illustrating one of the most important scenes in the Bible. He illustrates the importance of Jesus by having the Apostles leaning away from him and by creating a halo effect around his head. Da Vinci makes the shock of the disciples very believable. He makes those with an

understanding of this Biblical scene feel their shock also. Da Vinci does a great job creating deeper meanings in the painting, such as referring to the holy number three and the Holy Trinity. The techniques he uses to achieve this piece of work are extraordinary and it is no wonder why Leonardo da Vinci is regarded as one of the best painters of all time.