. Leonardo da Vinci, artist, thinker and man of science. he royal collection at Windsor. I mayfirst call attention to a study in red chalk for the head of the apostle onthe extreme left ; the beard is as yet short and slight (no. 8); anotherdrawing in the same medium (no. 9), a head in profile to the right, is astudy for the beardless apostle on the right, the third from the end, whoholds out both hands towards the Saviour, (There are also certainpoints of resemblance here to the apostle on the extreme left of thecomposition.) The red chalk drawing (no. 10) is a beardless head inprofile to the
. Leonardo da Vinci, artist, thinker and man of science. he royal collection at Windsor. I mayfirst call attention to a study in red chalk for the head of the apostle onthe extreme left ; the beard is as yet short and slight (no. 8); anotherdrawing in the same medium (no. 9), a head in profile to the right, is astudy for the beardless apostle on the right, the third from the end, whoholds out both hands towards the Saviour, (There are also certainpoints of resemblance here to the apostle on the extreme left of thecomposition.) The red chalk drawing (no. 10) is a beardless head inprofile to the right; it is for one of the apostles on the left. No. 11 isapparently the same head, rather older. The attitude is identical withthat of Judas in the painting, and there can be little doubt that thisstudy was the masters first thought for this justly famous type. Adrawing in black chalk (no. 17) is another head, of an energeticcast, in profile to the right, with crisp, curling hair, and a short IXStudy for the Head of Christ. •{the , Alii AN.). Pnnlcd b^. WiUrnann Pans (Fr, THE LAST SUPPER 191 beard. It is for the apostle last, or last but one, on the right. Themaster, as we see by these various examples, ^ experimented asfreely in his choice of types as in the general arrangement of hiscomposition. Various critics have attempted to identify the twelve disciples ;but save in the cases of three or four, their conjectures seem tohave been pure hypothesis. Leonardo himself noted the names ofeach person on the red chalk drawing in the Accademia at Venice ;but he only introduced one or two of these figures in the The perfection of grouping achieved in the Last Supper would ofitself be sufficient to mark an epoch in the annals of painting. Its easeand rhythm are indescribable, The figures, placed on two planes inperspective, are further arranged in groups of three, with the exceptionof Christ, who, isolated in the centre, dominates the action. Eight ofthe ap
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