What Is Happening in The Last Supper? Leonardo's Mural Explained

Leonardo da Vinci's The Last Supper shows a single dramatic second: the moment just after Jesus tells his twelve apostles that one of them will betray him. Jesus sits calmly in the centre, while the men on either side react with shock, anger, fear and confusion, gathered in small groups of three. Painted around 1495–1498 on the wall of a convent dining hall in Milan, it is one of the most recognisable images in the Western world, admired for its perspective, its sense of movement and the way it shows so many different human emotions at once.

The scene, from left to right

The apostles were identified by name thanks to an old copy of the painting; before that, only Jesus, Judas, Peter and John were known for sure. Reading from the left, the twelve men form four groups of three:

• Bartholomew, James son of Alphaeus and Andrew — all three look surprised.
• Judas, Peter and John — Judas leans back into shadow, clutching a small bag, perhaps the silver he was paid. Peter, angry, appears to hold a knife and leans towards John, who seems to faint towards him.
• Thomas, James the Greater and Philip — Thomas raises one finger, James throws his arms out in shock, and Philip seems to be asking for an explanation.
• Matthew, Jude Thaddeus and Simon — Matthew and Thaddeus turn towards Simon as if asking him what is going on.

Look for small details. Judas knocks over a salt cellar, which may refer to an old Middle Eastern expression, "to betray the salt", meaning to betray your master. He is also the only person with his elbow on the table. Earlier artists often separated Judas by putting him alone on the other side of the table or by giving everyone except him a halo. Leonardo instead keeps him among the others and lets the shadow do the work.

How the perspective works

All the lines of the room, from the ceiling to the wall panels and windows, lead towards one point: Jesus' head. His right cheek sits exactly at the vanishing point of the perspective. That is why your eye always returns to the centre, no matter where you start looking. His downturned gaze then leads your attention along his arm to his hand and the bread on the table.

Some people also see number patterns: the apostles sit in groups of three, there are three windows behind Jesus, and his figure forms a triangle. Whether Leonardo planned all of these is debated, but the composition is clearly designed with great care.

Who painted it, and for whom?

Leonardo da Vinci (1452–1519) was a painter, engineer and scientist who spent many years in Milan in the service of the duke, Ludovico Sforza. Sforza commissioned The Last Supper as part of his plans to rebuild the church and convent of Santa Maria delle Grazie. The mural is huge, about 4.6 by 8.8 metres, and covers the end wall of the dining hall. Apart from the decoration of one room in a Milan castle, it is Leonardo's largest work.

Leonardo did not paint it in one steady burst. He worked on it on and off from about 1495 to 1498. A well-known story says the prior of the convent complained about how long it was taking. Leonardo replied that he was struggling to find a face evil enough for Judas, and that if he found none, he could always use the prior's face.

An experiment that went wrong

Here is the painting's great tragedy. Most wall paintings of the time were frescoes: colours painted quickly onto wet plaster, one section a day. Leonardo disliked this method because it did not let him work slowly, change his mind or create the deep light and shadow he wanted. So he painted in tempera on a dry stone wall that he had sealed with layers of gesso, pitch and mastic, with a white undercoat to make the colours brighter.

It did not hold. The wall was thin and damp, and the paint did not stick properly. By 1517 it was already flaking, and by 1556, less than sixty years after it was finished, the writer Giorgio Vasari described it as a "muddle of blots".

Centuries of damage

People made things worse. In 1652 a doorway was cut through the bottom of the painting, and you can still see the arch shape near the centre, where Jesus' feet once were. A curtain hung in 1768 to protect it trapped moisture instead. In 1796 French troops used the hall as an armoury and stable and threw stones at the wall. In 1821 an expert tried to remove it from the wall, thinking it was a fresco, and badly damaged the centre.

During the Second World War, on 15 August 1943, the building was hit by Allied bombing. Sandbags protected the painting from flying fragments, though the vibration may have harmed it.

The 21-year restoration

From 1978 to 1999, the restorer Pinin Brambilla Barcilon led a huge project to stabilise the painting and remove dirt and the repainting added by earlier restorers. The room itself was sealed and climate-controlled. Areas that could not be saved were filled in with soft watercolour tones, so viewers can tell they are not original. The painting returned to view on 28 May 1999. The result was controversial: some critics felt that colours and even faces had changed too much.

Where is it, and can you visit?

The Last Supper is still on the wall where Leonardo painted it, in the former refectory of Santa Maria delle Grazie in Milan. Because it is so fragile, visits are limited: after the restoration, visitors had to book ahead and could stay only about fifteen minutes.

Myths and legacy

Dan Brown's 2003 novel The Da Vinci Code made popular the idea that the figure next to Jesus is Mary Magdalene. Art historians say the figure is the apostle John, painted with soft, youthful features that are typical of Leonardo. The painting has been copied, quoted and parodied countless times, including in Salvador Dalí's 1955 version. Despite its damage, it remains a lesson in storytelling: one moment, thirteen faces and a whole drama told without a single word.

Learn with The Last Supper: English phrases

Phrase	Meaning	Example
to betray someone	to break someone's trust	He would never betray a friend.
at the centre of attention	the main focus	The singer was at the centre of attention.
to react with shock	to show sudden surprise	Everyone reacted with shock to the news.
to fall into disrepair	to become damaged from lack of care	The old house fell into disrepair.
to restore something	to repair it to its earlier state	They restored the painting carefully.

Try this: Describe a group photo in three English sentences, using "at the centre of attention" and "to react with".