Santa Maria delle Grazie, Milan, Italy

Santa Maria delle grazie ('Holy Mary of Grace') is a church and Dominican convent in Milan, included in the UNESCO World Heritage sites list. The church contains the mural of The Last Supper by Leonardo da Vinci, which is in the refectory of the convent.

The refectory of the Convent of Santa Maria delle Grazie in Milan forms an integral part of this architectural complex, begun in 1463 and reworked at the end of the 15th century by Bramante. On the north wall is The Last Supper, the unrivalled masterpiece painted between 1495 and 1497 by Leonardo da Vinci, whose work was to herald a new era in the history of art. The complex, including the Church and Convent, was built from 1463 onwards by Guiniforte Solari, and was afterwards considerably modified at the end of 15th century by Bramante, one of the masters of the Renaissance. Bramante structurally enlarged the church and added large semi-circular apses, a wonderful drum-shaped dome surrounded by columns, and a spectacular cloister and refectory.

The Last Supper

The painting was commissioned in 1495 and completed in 1497. The representation by Leonardo da Vinci depicted the moment immediately after Christ said, “One of you will betray me”. Leonardo rejected the classical interpretation of the composition and had Jesus in the midst of the Apostles; he also created four groups of three figures on either side of Christ. The 12 Apostles reacted in differing ways; their movements and expressions are magnificently captured in Leonardo's work. The genius of the artist is seen especially in the use of light and strong perspective. Unfortunately, Leonardo did not work in fresco but in tempera on a two-layered surface of plaster that did not absorb paint. It was as early as 1568 when Vasari first pointed out problems with this painting technique.

The Last Supper, which Leonardo da Vinci painted in the refectory of the Dominican convent of Santa Maria delle Grazie, is undisputedly one of the world’s masterpieces of painting. Its unique value, which over the centuries has had immense influence in the field of figurative art, is inseparable from the architectural complex in which it was created.

References:

UNESCO

User Reviews

Aravind J (7 months ago)
Holy Mary of Graze Church in Milan, Italy. This is a UNESCO World Heritage Site and contains the famous "The Last Supper" mural painted by Leonardo da Vinci. Visit to the mural has separate tickets and bookings have to be made months in advance.

Mandy F (12 months ago)
Amazing to see the Last Supper in real life! Definitely worth the visit. Due to Corona you are only allowed to stay in the room for 15-20 minutes. But that’s all the time you need to admire this masterpiece. On the other side of the hall on the wall is another beautiful wall painting.

Janne Su (13 months ago)
Really nice, but if you want to see the Last Cene, you should buy the ticket online (they don't sell it there) the day before because you have to fill A LOT of forms online and it takes quite some time.

a b (13 months ago)
10 Stars for Leonardo, 1 for the ticket booking process. In the Ticket Office you can not book tickets. Online you had to tell Passport Nr. and everything and it still did not work.

Kuba Matějka (14 months ago)
Right next to the famous Last supper.

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Photo from Flickr, copyright Steve Clasper

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