The Painting of the Last Supper

 The story behind painting of the Last Supper is extremely interesting and
instructive. Two incidents connected with this painting afford a most
convincing lesson on the effects of thought in the life of a boy or girl, or
of  a man or woman.

The Last Supper was painted by Leonardo Da Vinci, a noted Italian artist.
The time engaged for its completion was seven years. The figures
representing the twelve apostles and Christ himself were painted from
living persons. The live model for the painting of the figure of Jesus was
chosen first.

When it was decided that Da Vinci would paint this great picture,
hundreds and  hundreds of young men were carefully viewed in an endeavor to
find a face and  personality of unaffected by sin. Finally, after weeks of
laborious searching a  young man, nineteen years of age, was selected as the
model for the portrayal of  Christ. For six months Da Vinci worked on the
production of this leading character of the famous painting.

 During the next six years Da Vinci continued his labors on his sublime
work of  art. One by one, fitting persons were chosen to represent each of
the eleven  apostles, space being left for the painting of the figure
representing Judas Iscariot as the final task of this masterpiece. This was
the apostle, you remember, who betrayed his Lord for thirty pieces of silver
with $16.95, in our  present day currency.

 For weeks Da Vinci searched for a man with hard callous face, with a
countenance  marked by scars of avarice, deceit, who would betray his best
friend. After many discouraging experiences in searching for the type of
person required to represent Judas, word came to Da Vinci that a man whose
appearance fully met the  requirements had been found. He was in a dungeon
in Rome, sentenced to die for  a life of crime and murder. Da Vinci made the
trip to Rome at once, and this  man was brought out from his imprisonment in
the dungeon and led out
into the  light of the sun. There Da Vinci saw before him a dark, swarthy
man, his long  shaggy and unkempt hair sprawled over his face. A face which
portrayed a character of viciousness and complete ruin. At last the painter
had found the person he wanted to represent the character of Judas in his
painting. By special permission from the king, this prisoner was carried to
Milan where the  fresco was being painted.

 For six months the prisoner sat before Da Vinci, at appointed hours each
day, as  the gifted artist diligently continued his task of transmitting to
his painting  this base character in the picture representing the traitor
and betrayer of the Savior. As he finished his last stroke, he turned to the
guards and said, "I  have finished, you may take the prisoner away."  The
prisoner suddenly broke loose from their control and rushed up to Da Vinci,
crying as he did so; "Oh, DaVinci,
 look at me! Do you not know who I am?"
 Da Vinci, with the trained eyes of a great character student, carefully
 scrutinized the man upon whose face he had constantly gazed for six
months and  replied; "No, I have never seen you in my life until you were
brought before me  out of the dungeon in Rome."

 Then lifting his eyes toward heaven, the prisoner said, "O God, have I
fallen so  low?" Then turning his face to the painter he cried, "Leonardo
Da Vinci, look  at me again, for I am the same man you painted just seven
years ago as the figure of Christ!"

This is the true story of the painting of the Last Supper that teaches so
strongly the lesson of the effects of right and wrong thinking of an
individual.

 He was a young man whose character was so pure and unspoiled by the sins of
the  world, that he represented a countenance and innocence and beauty fit
to be used  for the painting of a representation of Christ. But during the
seven years, following a life of sin an crime, he was changed into a perfect
picture of the most notorious character ever known in the history of the
world.