Art (Fine arts, Performing arts)

Leonardo da Vinci
• Embodies the term “Renaissance man”; many
consider him to have been the greatest genius
who ever lived.
• A painter, inventor, sculptor, architect, engineer,
scientist, musician.
• The Mona Lisa and The Last Supper are his
most famous works.
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Leonardo da Vinci. The Last Supper (after restoration). ca. 1495–97.

ANSWER

Mona Lisa and the Last Supper

Leonardo da Vinci was a sculptor, painter, architect, draftsman, and engineer shows intelligence and skills were more than any other person during his time (West, 294). Leonardo da Vinci characterized the Renaissance humanist ideal. Mona Lisa and Last Supper are among his most influential and widely popular paintings of the Renaissance. Leonardo used unusual observation powers, superb intellect, and mastery of the art draw to understand nature, facilitating his dual pursuits of science and art. Therefore, this paper will compare and contrast Last Supper and Mona Lisa, among his most famous arts. Mona Lisa and Last Supper are influenced by Leonardo’s imagination and curiosity and the Renaissance.

The Artist’s Choice of Medium and Importance of That Choice

The mediums used to create the two paintings are different but distinctive. This is because Leonardo Da Vinci had the skills of art and science, which made it possible to select the most appropriate mediums for the two images. The choice of medium for Last Supper was oil painting and tempera, which is a method of painting with pigments bound in water-soluble emulsions such as egg yolk or water. The last supper was painted on a stone and plaster wall. Leonardo Da Vinci chose tempera since it was the most excellent painting technique of the era.

Mona Lisa painting was made with a wood panel and oil paint. Oil painting is a slow drying paint that comprises pigment particles suspended in a drying oil. In addition, Leonardo Da Vinci used the sfumato art technique whereby the layers of colours were used to increase the depth of the painting. The sfumato technique created an invisible transition between shade and light and between colours. The Mona Lisa painting is more distinctive than the Last Supper since it does not contain any indications of brushwork. Da Vinci opted to paint on a dry surface rather than wet surfaces to make a mural painting whereby the artworks were being painted directly to the surface, which made his painting style unique from other artists.

Discussion of the Title

Mona Lisa and the Last Supper titles were grounded on the situations and the themes signified in the paintings. The specific themes that the artist wanted to connect to the audience which led to the title of the artworks. The Last Supper is named after the situation, which is when Jesus was sharing the last meal with the disciples. The Last Supper shows Jesus sharing the last supper to the disciples and a snapshot of Jesus sharing to the disciples about his betrayal (Polzer, 9). Leonardo’s version of the last supper is neatly arranged, with Jesus appearing at the centre with an extensive table. The painting shows how the disciples reacted in their unique way. The painting shows a calm composure of Jesus with his head and eyes lowered compared to the disciples’ reaction. Their different postures fall, rise, extent and intertwine, a moment that is well represented in the art.

The Mona Lisa is named after a subject believed to be Lisa Gherardini, the wife of a wealthy, skilled merchant. The portrait was used to speak more about position and likeness. Mona Lisa was named after the wife of a rich, skilled merchant who would want to display a rare portrait. The portrait was used to mark the birth of their children with a special celebration. The wealthy merchant could commission portraits to be painted during their lifetime. Therefore, the name of the portrait was given to the husband who commissioned the portrait to be drawn by Leonardo Da Vinci during Renaissance.

Social Contextualization of the Work

The social contextualization of art focuses on who views the work and their opinion relating to it. The context of art stems from the content and subject of the work, especially the facts regarding the art content. Mona Lisa and The Last Supper were part of the Renaissance, a period influenced by high awareness of nature, individualistic views and more classical learning (Mason, 40). During this period, people were interested in humanistic learning, nature and individualism. This period of intellectual activity and vigorous artistic was crucial in bridging the gap between modern-day civilization and the Middle Ages. During the period of the Renaissance, people looked back at the past in search of guidance and a sense of admiration.

Renaissance taught people the power to look at the past for inspiration and insights while dealing with their current issues. Looking at the past to understand a problem and get guidance for today was a significant way of acquiring potential answers and addressing the current issues that previous societies encountered. Therefore, Renaissance was a form of historical thinking that went into the fifteenth and sixteenth centuries with a need to push towards means of solving problems. The principle perspectives of renaissances were explored through the world of art, which allowed the creation of more realistic illusions in painted images.

Meaning and Purpose of the Work

The two paintings have been used to pass across some message to the audience through the symbols and expressions found in the paintings. The expressions and symbols of the Mona Lisa have passed across a message of culture, while the Last Supper passes the message of salvation through the death of Jesus Christ. The Mona Lisa is a visual representation of the perception of happiness. Mona Lisa represents Italian society since it represents the wife of a rich Italian merchant during that period.

On the other hand, Last Supper symbolized the Jewish culture since the last supper was celebrated from deliverance from slavery in Egypt. Therefore, the Last Supper was a special aspect of the Jewish religious customs where Jesus got to share the last meal with the disciples before he was betrayed. The painting is a dramatic scene described through closely connected moments of Jesus declaring that one of the disciples will betray him. The painting focuses on the disciples’ reaction and the belief that gesture, posture and expression greatly manifest the notions of mind, thus leading to varying human emotions.

Religious and Psychological Importance

Mona Lisa has psychological importance, while the Last Supper has religious importance. Considerably, Mona Lisa displays happiness and non-genuine emotion. The woman’s facial expression in the painting appears to be different when viewed from varying angles. Mona Lisa is sometimes happy and sometimes sad, which lead to emotional ambiguity in her facial expression. Researchers state that if Mona Lisa doesn’t look happy to an individual, it might be because of their mental and psychological state. The painting focuses on how emotions and perceptions of the world around an individual change.

On the other hand, The Last Supper painting has religious importance since it is a religious painting that shows the revelation of Jesus to disciples about his betrayal and their reaction to the message. The Last Supper is used to remind Christians about the Sacrifice of Jesus so that they may be forgiven their sins. This painting shows the final meal that Jesus Christ shared with his Apostles before being crucified as a living sacrifice.

How the Work Fits Into the Artist’s Personal Story

Leonardo Da Vinci was an Italian painter and architect with high skills and intelligence, which led to his influential paintings. During his early life, Da Vinci received multifaceted training, including sculpture and painting and technical mechanical arts (Blatt, 105). Leonardo Da Vinci had developed artistic techniques which were considered perfection. Leonardo Da Vinci existed during the High Renaissance, a time of artistic talent and genius, which most exceptional artistic productions. Da Vinci was known to be experimental in his materials and paints. This is evident in The Last Supper and Mona Lisa painting, which have varied means of expression and painting techniques.

Conclusion

In summation, Mona Lisa and The Last Supper are among the most famous paintings by Leonardo Da Vinci. The materials used to design the paints are different and distinctive, with Mona Lisa using the oil paint and sfumato technique while The Last Supper is painted on a stone wall using tempera. Leonardo Da Vinci employs expression and symbolism in both paintings, which express his ideas. The paintings are influenced by themes and situations, used to communicate the painting titles to the audience. The Mona Lisa painting is linked to Italian society, while The Last Supper is linked to Jewish culture. The Mona Lisa has psychological importance due to its emotional display. In contrast, The Last Supper has religious importance due to its relationship with Christianity and Jesus Christ as their living sacrifice. The two paintings related to the artistic skills of Da Vinci and the High Renaissance period.

Works Cited

Blatt, Katy. “Leonardo da Vinci: The Biography.” J. Art Crime 19 (2018): 105.

Mason, Wiley. “The Renaissance.” SWOSU Sayre Student Anthology 1.4 (2019): 40.

Polzer, Joseph. “Reflections on Leonardo’s Last Supper.” Artibus et Historiae 63 (2011): 9.

West, John B. “Leonardo da Vinci: engineer, bioengineer, anatomist, and artist.” American Journal of Physiology-Lung Cellular and Molecular Physiology 312.3 (2017): L392-L397.