Who Painted the Last Supper?

What it depicts: the moment from the Gospels when Jesus tells his twelve apostles that one of them will betray him, capturing the varied, individual reactions of shock, denial, and distress across the group rather than a static, posed scene — one of the qualities that made it so influential.

Why it's technically a mural, not a fresco — and why that matters: true fresco is painted onto wet plaster, which chemically bonds the pigment into the wall as it dries, making it very durable. Leonardo instead painted onto dry plaster using a mix of tempera and oil, an experimental technique that let him work more slowly and revise details, but bonded far more weakly to the wall. Combined with the room's damp conditions, this caused the painting to start flaking and deteriorating within decades of its completion, and it has required numerous restoration efforts since, most extensively a 21-year restoration completed in 1999.

A common mix-up: "The Last Supper" has been painted many times by many artists throughout art history (notably a well-known version by the Venetian painter Tintoretto, among others), but the one referenced by default in almost all searches and most widely reproduced is Leonardo's version in Milan.

Where to see it: it remains on the refectory wall in Milan; visits require advance timed-entry reservations due to the painting's fragile condition and the small room size.

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