The Last Supper

Learn about the history and meaning of the Last Supper, which depicts the Last Supper of Jesus with his disciples. Oil, tempera, fresco, 1495-98 (Santa Maria delle Grazie, Milan). Created by Beth Harris and Steven Zucker.

[@MSK-jd5fi]

As someone with hearing loss, I love the calm quiet voices and enjoy how clear and crisp the diction is. The speakers are so easy to understand. Of course the information they are giving is interesting and important.

[@smarthistory-art-history]

Thank you for reaching out and for your kind words about our work.

[@Marcus-by1zb]

I was just there last week. Unbelievable to be in the presence of this master work, very emotional!!!

[@nickgent9949]

You are such a good double act, your analysis is really inspirational, revealing, bringing art to life and more accessible to all. Thanks so much for what you do, Nick

[@PaintballCallum]

The reason why they are so quiet is because they are actually there and it is frowned upon to speak loudly there

[@smarthistory-art-history]

Caldog17 That is correct. We always try to be respectful in sacred (or even formerly sacred) spaces.

[@PaintballCallum]

very good video and i loved your analysis of christ in the image:)

[@smarthistory-art-history]

S. M. della Grazie in Milan

[@lucarinaldi2248]

I am going there in August !!! awesome video

[@sergiopaz9645]

Si alguien desea realmente entender esta obra, debe interiorizarse en los misterios platónicos del Renacimiento, leyendo De amore, de Ficino, quien aparece dialogando con Platón en la última tríade platónica.

[@gahbalgoo2589]

Absolutely beautiful...The piece, the descriptions from the speakers. very moving, very inspiring.

[@Sasha0927]

This might be the fourth time I'm seeing this video, but it's worth it every time. I'm starting my second position today, bonus for an internet outage prolonging my Project Mgmt shift, so I won't be able to love y'all or chase the Baroque like I normally would... But I will make time! 😤

[@smarthistory-art-history]

Good luck with the new position.

[@Sasha0927]

@@smarthistory-art-history Good luck is right, lol. Position's cool, utter lack of time isn't. Thank you. 💕

[@Guigley]

Aside from how much the painting has deteriorated over the centuries, I always thought one of the saddest things about the work is how the monks cut a door directly beneath it (similar to the people who re-framed Rembrandt's 'The Night Watch'). In my opinion, it completely throws the viewer off and distracts from taking in da Vinci's perspective achievements. Aside from that, I think it's phenomenal that it even exists at all, given all that's happened to it. I hope to see it in person one day.

[@kiverismusic]

Interesting - is it true that the door was cut after the painting was hung there ? I always thought Leonardo intented for it to be placed above the entrance as that is probably where most monks would be looking while eating

[@superhooch]

@@kiverismusic Its not a painting that was hung, its a mural painted directly onto the wall and a doorway was indeed literally cut out the wall.

[@c_turtle]

I have visited and I saw it. Read about the damage done during the war with the bombs and it being left in the open air with the elements. It is so heavily restored and cannot really be looked at as being the hand of Leonardo. I was a bit disappointed to learn about it and view the actual photos of destruction.

[@navaa13]

i honestly love these videos so much. thank you so much!!!!

[@JoeZ96]

navaa13 same

[@ACoustaDC]

I have always heard this moment was when Jesus said, "Everyone who wants to be in the picture, please get on this side of the table".

[@ailahoward5188]

😂😂😂never thought of it that way

[@andriybasyuk5674]

Thank you for all videos like this on your channel! These videos really helped me capture the symbolism in paintings and get me an A in my Italian Renassaince Art class :)

[@Mritalicsmine]

To accentuate the positive... if the Last Supper began to deteriorate shortly after painting, then it's a pretty darned good paint job to still hold up over 5 hundred years.

[@Yoshiling]

My little mind was blown when you showed how the lines point to Christ. So cool.

[@Viridian02]

same! haha

[@danianjan]

I overlooked all the spectacular details in Da Vinci's masterpiece until the commentators in this video pointed them out. A very revealing video !

[@ginniem9779]

Peter holding the knife foreshadows him cutting off the ear of Malchus, the high priest's servant, when the latter is about to arrest Jesus in the Garden of Gethsemane. (according to another clip about this artwork)

[@Ip2always]

As a christan this is a wow moment

[@27ephesus]

your breakdowns are amazing

[@scorpionkid991]

I absolutely loved this video. Thank you for sharing so many facts about this painting. It helped me with a school paper.

[@stevenshults5265]

asmr? nah these videos are really useful

[@rosenia5409]

Thank you lol I thought I was the only one, very relaxing video too!

[@12chapiman]

Excellent video.

[@almeggs3247]

I continue loving all your instructive explanations. Awesome!

[@JamesMugo]

Exquisite Commentary!

[@sailb0atscream]

This channel always updates just when I'm studying the painting they're talking about! It's so much better than my art teacher :)

[@Idalinamusica]

Loved it. thank you

[@nealpeterson]

Great analysis-thanks for sharing.

[@melissadawson4668]

I know they are supposed to be quiet, but they remind me of the sportscasters who cover figure skating.

[@passantelsadany5046]

great videos i really like it

[@TWOCOWS1]

Thank you for posting. Lovely description and analysis. Is there one also on the turbulent history of this fresco?

[@wonderhoy4191]

Who knew that just a normal painting has so much meanings and secrets behind it?

[@raymondmulholland2156]

In St. John's Gospel, he never refers to himself by name, but as "the one whom Jesus loved" (Jn 14:23 for his explicit participation in the Last Supper). Is this a peculiar case of vainglory on his part? St. John frequently gives words double meanings throughout his works, especially on spiritual matters. If we assume he is doing the same thing here, much of the Gospels makes more sense. In Jn 14:21, it is explicitly stated that whoever loves Jesus loves the Father, and that Jesus will love him in return. To be "the one whom Jesus loves" merely requires loving Him back. We can then infer that, as "one whom Jesus loves", one is spiritually partaking of the Last Supper (among other key events of Jesus' time on Earth). Tie this to the Bread of Life Discourse where Jesus said that all must eat of him to be saved (Jn 6:22-59, but verses 57-58 in particular), and Jesus declaring that the bread and wine of the Last Supper is his body and blood (Matt 26:26-28). As Catholics, we believe that when we celebrate the Eucharist as lovers of Christ, that we are actually participating in the Last Supper and partaking in the bread of life given to us as part of the eternal sacrifice for our salvation.

[@mcgannahanskyjellyfetti1663]

What did Jesus say to the 12 Apostles? "If you guys all get on THIS SIDE of the table you ALL can be in the picture..."

[@joelynn1103]

not cool..... but really funny.

[@pabitrapanda1968]

Greatly described....😊

[@lakshmanankomathmanalath]

thank you

[@joemarsden68]

so relaxing!!

[@ln14517]

It is crazy that people think this is the factual image of the Last Supper. Also, most people do realize how reductions of this painting are often grossly "fixed".

[@ghosttrain9022]

Table for 26 please. Yes, but you're only 13...

[@tejo2u]

thanks heaps

[@bettyawad482]

Amen 🙏

[@gearrazkarraysgyfarnogod8554]

I'm sure that I saw this fantastic painting in The Louvre 1976...

[@sergiopaz9645]

Il Cenacolo es una obra filosófica inspirada en De amore de Ficino, mostrando la coincidencia de la sabiduría pagana y el mensaje de Cristo. La segunda triade dice que el amor es el deseo de la belleza que se perfecciona en Dios, y el tercer trío, que no se debe devolver mal por mal (Steiner, Platón, Critón).

[@PerryCuda]

Great, but could you disable the "download" button. I'd like to view it offline.

[@rafatonic]

Wait what is that missing square in the middle at the bottom?

[@johnmeluch1586]

Dictatorboy it's a doorway

[@jessicahiatt2736]

The monks cut a doorway

[@NaderR]

Da Vinci interpreted his own vision of Christ's last supper and not depicting in his painting what really happened.

[@smarthistory-art-history]

Yes. If that weren't the case, this wouldn't be art.

[@张子啸-e9n]

are u guys doing this in secret ? cause u guys sound like u did this video in a library or somewhere .. awesome video anyway.

[@smarthistory-art-history]

+张子啸 We try to be respectful in sacred spaces. We recorded this not in a library but in S. M. della Grazie in Milan.

[@colleenpeterson7247]

I'm wondering why ( Mary ) ? Is in the picture

[@smarthistory-art-history]

Mary is not in the picture. Have you been reading Dan Brown?

[@colleenpeterson7247]

@@smarthistory-art-history , I've looked at this picture a 1000x,s. To the left it's a woman...

[@smarthistory-art-history]

​@Colleen Peterson If you are open to learning, you will discover that Saint John, who is seated to the right of Christ, is painted to appear gentle and perhaps even feminine. You might even discover why the incorrect idea of this being Mary became popular in recent decades. The choice is yours.

[@sadsappysucker_]

@@smarthistory-art-history have you seen the kanye west rally ? If you look at the hour long video and skip to around the @28:00 mark, he says he visited the Vatican amd in one of raphael's paintings mary is blurred out because of the church during those times. Can you confirm this ? It stood out to me because he said his tour guide explained "that's mary" id assume he's speaking of "john"

[@joemarsden68]

@@smarthistory-art-history you tell him!

[@JesusSanAgustin]

😇✨✨Thanks1000💐✨🙏💫

[@saywhat3846]

Does anyone c the cup on the wall

[@dotjoiner]

No, because it does not exist. But it does show the power of imagination that you can see something that is not there. There is a long article by another viewer who spent a lot of time some years ago trying to delineate what he thinks he sees. It has been dismissed by those experts who have been up close to the work i.e., Pinin Brambilla, who was the restorer who worked on the mural for almost 20 years .

[@thinginground5179]

@@dotjoiner damn dude calm down he literally said 7 words and 1 letter.

[@ludmilatk]

👏🏼👏🏼👏🏼

[@MJMonroe]

Is this the original painting in Milan?

[@smarthistory-art-history]

Yes.

[@stellalagos3397]

My teacher showed us this, and half of my class at 3:02 was like "ILLUMINATI" and the other half at 3:05 was like "RESURRECTION STONE" and I was rubbing my neck from all the "neck cringing" I was doing with all these theories coming at me like BOOM- BOOM- BOOOOM!

[@earlenem5745]

I would love to have a picture of the Lord's Supper but I don't find any nowhere stores stores used to sell them I don't find nothing nowhere no more but I'm going to keep looking that's a beautiful picture

[@BrianJosephMorgan]

They were friars, not monks.

[@scarr1816]

Has the mandela messed with this? Was the cup always by the wall when you guys visited? Looks completely off

[@davidthomas7818]

The supper. A codex riddle. Several names, Numbers, and Acts. The meeting. ( It's done in heaven.) For so shall it be here and done unto me. ) It's a prayer.😂🤣😂 All stay blessed

[@sd97147114]

Why y’all whispering?

[@smarthistory-art-history]

This, like almost every Smarthistory video, was recorded onsite, in this case in a monastery. When we are in sacred spaces we keep our voices low to be respectful of those around us.

[@barbaram.9530]

I just subscribed

[@TabbytheCatx]

So is no one going to notice HOW there is now glass and glass jugs holding wine on the table in this painting now... Uno they didn't have it back then but had like wooden jugs... It was not in the painting before. Why isn't anyone noticing???!!

[@smarthistory-art-history]

Actually glass, including glass vessels such as mugs, are far older than this painting, and are even older than the period depicted in the painting. Glass was common in both ancient Rome and during the Renaissance in Italy.

[@kevinalston5492]

Did Jesus Christ look like this?

[@smarthistory-art-history]

Great question. This image is a convention, that is, it follows the traditions of its time and location (Italy in the renaissance). Art is much more a mirror of the culture that produced it, than the subject it depicts.

[@kevinalston5492]

@@smarthistory-art-history unfortunately people will hold these things as truth

[@PrincessSakuno]

omg that was so sick!

[@medielijah]

no more universal genius nowadays. renaissance must have been doing something right to bring forth such characters

[@lonniedobbins778]

Go visit a museum. Science fair. Go outside and open your eyes.

[@barbaram.9530]

Why does John look like Mary Magdalene? Great video

[@smarthistory-art-history]

Thank you for the kind words. To answer your question, John doesn't actually look like Mary Magdalene. First off, no one knows what Mary Magdalene looked liked. As a result, artists use attributes to help viewers identify her. These include a jar of ointment, long red hair, and often, proximity to the feet of Christ. The idea that Leonardo painted Mary Magdalene in place of John was popularized by Dan Brown in his novel the Da Vinci Code. And like the novel, this idea is pure fiction.

[@barbaram.9530]

Smarthistory. art, history, conversation. Wow! Thank you. He just looks very much like a woman to me .... It is amazing he used mirrors for perspective.

[@howtubeable]

@@smarthistory-art-history Thank you for your response. I despise Dan Brown's Da Vinci Code. He has polluted so many minds.

[@kingjoe3rd]

I think it was a council of chief priest's called the Sanhedrin that paid Judas the thirty pieces of silver to betray Jesus.

[@赵瑞晨]

That's useful

[@breezyashell]

Love this analysis. Something I wish you had talked about was how Leonardo chose to paint white, European men

[@smarthistory-art-history]

Leonardo was a European, painting for a European patron and a European audience and since his focus was not on historical accuracy, he did what many artists in Europe did, he painted a scene from the New Testament as if it had taken place in Europe. The architecture depicted is also that of the end of the 15th century in Italy where this was made. Art is a wonderful way to explore the world in which the artist lived, but it isn't always very useful as a way to understand the world the artist represents.

[@henry-bo3np]

I understand that this is a restoration. But still the Last Supper is in awful shape. Can't science do anything to truly restore this masterpiece to something more closely approaching it's original appearance?

[@rongvietphuyen2509]

xin chào

[@joemarsden68]

holy asmr

[@rebo2plays358]

It has 666k views.

[@smarthistory-art-history]

well, no. Not yet. it has 665,925 views at the moment. KZbin gives averages to the public.

[@rebo2plays358]

Now its 666,285

[@mistycat51]

I don’t really understand so many people are white when they where born in the middle east including Jesus at times just show it as it is get it right

[@smarthistory-art-history]

Paintings are not photographs, and they shouldn't be thought of as historically accurate illustrations. There was no way for an artist to "get it right" since there are no images from the era that Leonardo could have used. Instead, we look at fresco such as this to tell us what was important to the culture that made the painting. This is a document of the late 15th century in Milan, not 1st century Jerusalem. There is a long tradition of transforming religious figures so that they resemble the people for whom the painting was made.

[@DidierDubz]

This painting only has 1 meaning. The oldest and most beautiful story ever told on this planet. Do you guys not see it??

[@eastsideofthecity4552]

“And now Jesus will tee off at the first hole to start the masters”. Why are they talking like golf commentators

[@smarthistory-art-history]

Ha! While golf commentators seek to avoid disrupting the players' focus, we keep our voices low in sacred spaces out of respect for worshippers and other visitors. Like the sports commentators, we record onsite.

[@mikeg.5233]

Analyzing an artists impression is is only his imagination. People tend to take these things to seriously. Notice Jesus doesn't have a cup because the Holy Grail is a metaphor. 😇

[@smarthistory-art-history]

The idea that an artist's work is entirely the result of his or her imagination is a modern idea. Painting in 15th century Milan for the duke, in a monastery, was a very different matter. Leonardo had plenty of opportunity for invention, and invent he did, but he was also responsive to the expectations of the patron and the community for whom he was painting.

[@AnnabelleJARankin]

Very interesting. Have always loved this work of art. So moving. Have seen a reproduction in a London museum, not yet seen the original!