Arts And Culture Artifact 

The last supper by Leonardo da Vinci

Overview

 The Last Supper is a biblical story in the New Testament that presents Jesus and his 12 apostles.  Leonardo interpreted this story in his painting and presented Jesus and his apostles before the crucifixion. Jesus and his apostles are sharing the body and blood and in the painting, Leonardo presents Jesus as the hero (seated at the center) and Judas is presented as the villain and a person who will betray Jesus. Christ is at the center of the apostles and reveals to them that one of them will betray him. The Apostles starts to question each other and shows psychological reaction since they do not who would betray Jesus. The Last Supper account is rooted in the Italian Renaissance where humanists, ancient thinkers, literature, and arts focused on the cultural rebirth in Europe (Vasari et al, 1998).  Artists such as Leonard were influenced by the social, cultural and political state of the European states and they focused on defending their states against the power of powerful city-States such as the Papal States. These States were more powerful and had powerful government and the artists applied the humanist principles and intellectual principles in claiming for the man' own achievements.

 

Historian point of view

 Giorgio Vasari was a great Renaissance artist who gives the account of the last supper that was created in the 15th century. Vasari describes Leonard as a great, genius, creative thinker, courageous, and a royal man who represented the Italian High Renaissance in his Last Supper painting. The expert affirms that Leonardo reflected humanism by arguing that human beings in the painting show human emotions and human feelings toward solving human problems.  Leonardo was influenced by social and political factors in that during the 14th century, Black people were killed in the European population and the death led to an intellectual movement in Italy where people came up with new ideas of human development (Vasari et al, 1998).During the Renaissance, individuals expressed their ideas through different methods such as artwork and literature. In expressing the ideas of humanism, The Last Supper Painting represented the pop culture and the human need for freedom from pain and suffering (Vasari, 1998). The social and cultural factors played a significant role in the development of Renaissance art since in the 14th century, European suffered from a great crisis and they focused on reinvigorating their society. The only way they could express their grievances is through art, architecture, literature and other methods, to claim beauty and power (Vasari et al, 1998). The author states that the Last Supper painting depicted the humanism, individualism, classism, secularism, and versatility.

 

Reaction

  According to the historical context, the Last Supper reflects the Italian Renaissance during the 14th century- a period when there was a demand for a cultural rebirth. The cultural rebirth in the reformation movement was expressed using different methods such as painting, literature, sculpting, music, science and more to demand a cultural change (Vasari et al, 1998). My opinion is influenced by the socio-economic background that Italy was under the Roman Empire and a number of social and economic factors influence the demand for a cultural change.  The Leonardo painting expressed the humanists' ideas and depicted Classism and realism to emphasize the noble values, ideal beauty, and the State interest. To combat the great crisis that European was suffering, artists such as Leonard expressed his feelings by created the Last Supper painting that shows how individuals presented their emotions and feelings (Vasari et al, 1998). I agree that during the intellectual movement, humanism was an important element and for this reason, artists focused on the society rebirth and human freedom, potentials, and achievements.

 

 

 

Reference

 

Vasari, G., Bondanella, J. C., & Bondanella, P. E. (1998). The lives of the artists. Oxford University Press.