Aquila Children's Magazine AQUILA Magazine Best Bits | Page 27

THE LAST SUPPER
This rather epic piece took LDV three years to complete.
It is still on the wall it was painted on, in a convent
First of all, you have the mystery of
called the Santa Maria delle Grazie in Milan, Italy.
the disciples themselves. All based
Conspiracy theories, symbolism and scandal surrounds
this intriguing depiction of the last meal Christ shared
with his disciples before his crucifixion. If you’re familiar
with this story and with Jewish traditions in general,
you’ll know that religious meals are, in themselves,
hugely symbolic affairs. Add an extra layer of that old
da Vinci magic and you’ve got an image that’s still
causing arguments more than 500 years later.
on real life characters. Da Vinci was
said to have searched the jails of
Italy for the right looking villain to
depict arch-traitor Judas. But who is
the apostle to the left of Jesus? It’s
thought to be John, but it looks
suspiciously like a woman. This has
led to plenty of speculation over
the true identity of this character.
But the real genius of this picture is
said to be the way the bread rolls
are placed on the table, coupled
with the position of the disciples’
hands. Mark where they appear on
the painting, overlay with a blank
musical score and you have an
instant requiem 1 … if you follow the
notes from right to left of course!
A-mazing. Or maybe not. After all,
it was all coming from a man who
would also scribble down designs
for an early helicopter,
before anyone had even learnt to
pronounce anemone… amenot…
anemometer properly.
There’s no two ways about it, Leonardo da Vinci was an all-round genius and
prankster, and if that’s not an AQUILAnaut personified, we don’t know what is.
https://www.independent.co.uk/news/world/
europe/musician-finds-hidden-hymn-in-da-vinci-work-399740.html
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anemometer and scuba gear, long