Publisher's Synopsis
Leonardo began the Last Supper at Santa Maria delle Grazie in Milan in 1495. Obsessed with perfection, he accorded precise meaning to every fine detail such as the stones and jewels on the garments worn by Christ and the Apostles, an important aspect which went unnoticed for centuries. Why did he choose to paint them and where did he source his iconography?The author analyses the symbolism of these precious stones in order to uncover a novel aspect of Leonardo's work capable of giving us the thrill of a new discovery. For the first time, a comprehensive text has seriously addressed the stone symbolism in Leonardo's Last Supper in Milan, taking into account numerous factors starting with the Jewish tradition, continuing through the intense cultural climate in Lombardy at the end of the fifteenth century and encompassing Dominican customs, so rich in theological considerations, which provided Leonardo with his repertoire of precious stones.Studying a painting conceived for monastic life means investigating its wealth of theological content. Leonardo's Last Supper is a one-of-a-kind painting whose spiritual content marks it out and highlights the close relationship between Holy Scripture and religious life. It is a complex Eucharistic work, rich in a symbolism that was derived as much from the Dominican fathers as from the grand Master himself.For a close and comprehensive reading of Leonardo's masterpiece and its details, this book also gives precious photographic documentation, presented by the author in specific tables, allowing a direct comparison between the original work and copies of it.This work presents a unique reinterpretation of Leonardo's masterpiece by means of an analysis of its twelve precious stones. While the depth of detail in the painting may at first appear to have no special meaning, Leonardo Da Vinci and the Twelves Stones of Heaven shows that those details may, in fact, be fundamental to our understanding of the true significance of Leonardo's famous painting.Publisher Dott. Ing. Tiziano Radicewww.500leonardodavinci.comwww.genialtutor.com
