.Painting of The Last Supper by Leonardo Da Vinci in concept of Da Vinci Code

The Last Supper painting by Leonardo Da Vinci

               A work three years in the making, Leonardo Da Vinci's The Last Supper remains one of the greatest masterpieces of all time. Even over 500 years after the painting was completed, this piece remains one of the most studied paintings in history, and The Last Supper is among the most sold of all Da Vinci posters.

                             Da Vinci’s Last Supper is depicted in this ritual meal as a religious ceremony. Christ is very much the focal point of the entire piece and we have a sense of asymmetrical symmetry as he is flanked by his disciples. There are thirteen people in all (including Christ) and we can see, presumably the figure of Judas Escariot to the right of Christ, as he was still present at the meal. Some have theorized that Mary Magdalene was sitting to the left of Christ in the painting, but this is a contradiction since there had to be twelve disciples, and she was not one of them. It is interesting to note, that with Christ as the center piece, how he is in fact well framed by the doorway. This provides contrast between his figure and the outside, as well as bringing out eye to the most important figure on the piece. His arms, head and body form a triangle, as well as the space on the left hand side between him and the figure to his left. The disciples are also nicely arranged into groups of three along the length of the table. One interesting fact is that there are lines of perspective that radiate from Christ’s head, indicating that he is the focal point of the painting. These perspective lines blend in with the ceiling and walls. The painting also makes us feel as if we too are a part of it. This formula has been copied and become the standard for symbolic paintings from then on.