2. The Last Supper by Leonardo da Vinci
Up next in our list of famous paintings with the stories behind them is The Last Supper, that is a giant mural which depicts Jesus and his twelve disciples immersed in conversation. It was painted by da Vinci at the request of the Duke of Milan, Ludovico Sforza, and the artist made several sketches in preparation before undertaking the real task. The painting shows that point in time when Jesus revealed to his faithful followers that one among them would betray him, which provoked a frazzled discussion. What is fascinating is that da Vinci took days searching for the perfect face to fit the traitor, Judas, in the painting, and he is depicted as the one whose hand hovers over a plate, in accordance with Christ’s saying in Matthew – “He that dippeth his hand with me in the dish, the same shall betray me” – and whose body is angled away from Jesus, distinguishing him from the rest.
