At the Cenacle Museum, the Last Supper in pictures

Opening on May 28 and on view until Dec. 8, 2019, the exhibition Last Supper in Images - Photography Tells the Story of the Twentieth Century aims to tell the story of the Last Supper by means of cinema, documentary, and historical images. A review that narrates theevolution of the museum and the travails of the painted wall, from the aerial bombardment of 1943 to the great restoration campaigns of the twentieth century.

The exhibition unfolds within the spaces of the Museo del Cenacolo and is divided into several sections that trace the highlights of the tormented events that characterize the history of theLast Supper and the complex of the Graces in the twentieth century.

Beginning with the shocking images of the damage suffered by the Santa Maria delle Grazie complex from the air ra id in August 1943, when a bomb, exploded in the center of the Cloister of the Dead, pulverized the portico, the cells and the library, collapsed a wall and the entire vault of the Refectory, damaged the Crucifixion by Donato Montorfano and damaged the lunettes above theLast Supper.

After the destructions, the review recounts the restorations: from those of the early 20th century, carried out by Luigi Cavenaghi and Oreste Silvestri to that of Mauro Pellicioli, who celebrated its resurrection after World War II, to that of Pinin Brambilla Barcilon. The latter, begun in 1977 and concluded in 1999, opened a new era in the methodology of conservation of the work with an approach aimed at prevention and environmental control.

Thanks to the comparison of images of details taken during the various interventions, the visitor will grasp with immediacy the real state of the pictorial surface and the evolution of restoration methodologies.
The exhibition concludes with little-known images that trace the far-from-linear story that brought the Last Supper from monument to museum.

The exhibition also serves as a tool to increase knowledge of Leonardo’s work through extensive visual documentation aimed at understanding the cultural and historical context that led Leonardo’s masterpiece to look as it does today.

TheLast Supper in Images is curated by Michela Palazzo and is produced in collaboration with Gallerie d’Italia, the University of Milan and the Dominican Fathers of the Basilica of Santa Maria delle Grazie, and with the support of Intesa Sanpaolo and Epson; it is promoted by the Polo Museale della Lombardia with the Museo Nazionale del Cenacolo Vinciano and the Fondazione Cineteca.

Image: Restorer Pinin Brambilla Barcilon with Superintendent Carlo Bertelli during the restoration of the Last Supper. Photographic archive Soprintendenza Archeologia Belle Arti e Paesaggio di Milano.

At the Cenacle Museum, the Last Supper in pictures

Warning: the translation into English of the original Italian article was created using automatic tools. We undertake to review all articles, but we do not guarantee the total absence of inaccuracies in the translation due to the program. You can find the original by clicking on the ITA button. If you find any mistake,please contact us.