The Last Supper was a very powerful Biblical event, in which Jesus and his disciples gathered for one final dinner together. According to the Bible, important events took place during the Last Supper, including an announcement by Jesus that one of his disciples would betray him and the first communion. To artists in the fifteenth and sixteenth centuries, it was necessary to give proper deference to such notable occurrences. One of Da Vinci's most famous art works "The Last Supper" took 5 years to complete. It is a fresco artwork created in 1498 and has been subject to a lot of restoration. While the Last Supper is a typical subject chosen for the decoration of many refectories (dining hall) because of the Eucharistic theme of sacrifice, Leonardo chose to capture the moment in which Jesus announces to the apostles that he knows one of them will betray him. The apostles are captured in their sense of astonishment immediately after this announcement.
Leonardo's work could be called Fresco; however he did experiment with the process which is part of the reason why it has not survived untouched since its completion. Fresco, meaning "fresh" in Italian, is a form of mural painting in which earth pigments are applied directly to wet lime plaster. The Last Supper is not really a fresco. Leonardo's intense concentration and hesitant manner of execution did not suit the commonly used medium for mural painting, in which the pigment had to be applied quickly before the plaster dried, precluding any changes during the course of execution. Instead of fresco, Leonardo devised his own technique for mural painting, a sort of tempera on stone. The pigment soon began to break loose from the base and a process of progressive decay set in. As early as 1517, it was noted to have begun to decay. The brick wall of the Last Supper has been subject to changes in temperature, humidity, and moisture.
