The Last Supper is a mural painting by Leonardo da Vinci (15th century) that can be found in Santa Maria delle Grazie in Milan, Italy. The painting technique used by Leonardo made the mural perishable, and that together with vandalism and restoration efforts in the 18th and 19th centuries have made it all but gone. A high resolution reproduction of The Last Supper is available online.
Photo: Wikipedia
But those living in Oxford can get a taste of how the original was from the contemporary copy on canvas by Giampietrino, that hangs in the ante-chapel of Magdalen College, on long-term loan from the Royal Academy.
Photo: © Royal Academy of Arts, London.
Thankfully, a lengthy restoration process has returned the piece to a state close to its former glory, and it now hangs at Magdalen for anyone to see. The antechapel provides the perfect setting, not merely because it is itself contemporary to the piece, but because the placing of the painting corrects the perspective, allowing us to fully appreciate its genius. Whilst the copy is doubtless inferior to the original, it remains the closest we can get to viewing da Vinci’s vision of that immortal moment where Christ says to his disciples: “One of you which eateth with me shall betray me.”
Emma Whipday, Hidden Art in Oxford, Cherwell, 26 Oct 2007.