Looking at the evidence 1. Leonardo painted The Last Supper onto the wall of a church in a convent. He tried to use a new method of painting frescoes using oil paint. Look at the quality of the picture and decide if it was successful. Give a reason for your answer.
2. Leonardo uses perspective to great effect. In pairs, try to find where the vanishing point of the painting is. Discuss why you think he placed the vanishing point where he did.
3. Also look at Leonardo’s use of shade and light. Why do you think Judas (third on the left from Jesus) is in shade?
Source D
u I can design portable bridges and cannon-proof ships. I can also make gun carriages and catapults. In times of peace I can paint anything you want. I can work as an architect or an engineer and I can make statues in marble, bronze or clay. I am also good at philosophy, poetry, mathematics, physics, chemistry, botany and mechanics.
– Letter from da Vinci to Sforza
Fig 5.6 Da Vinci’s plans for creating a parachute.