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 1 anemometer and scuba gear, long