Interesting news regarding the Leonardo mural
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Thomas is also pointing his finger upwards in the 500-year-old mural, a gesture which Leonardo's contemporaries viewed as a da Vinci trademark
Did da Vinci paint himself into The Last Supper? Fascinating new theory suggests Leonardo used his own face for TWO of the apostles
- Art expert believes Thomas and James the Lesser are self-portraits of Renaissance genius
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He is the man behind some of the most famous portrait paintings in history.
Yet, ironically, art experts still have relatively little idea what Leonardo da Vinci himself looked like.
Because the Renaissance genius left no self-portraits from his youth, academics have been forced to explore their suspicions that he may have placed his image into one of his own masterpieces.
Code cracked? Art historian Dr Ross King has presented new evidence which he believes shows that Leonardo da Vinci used his own face for two apostles, Thomas and James the Lesser, in his painting of the Last Supper
Staring them in the face? Dr King references a portrait believed to be of da Vinci in his later years showing him with a Greek nose and flowing hair, much like the two apostles. Thomas is also pointing his finger upwards in the 500-year-old mural, a gesture which Leonardo's contemporaries viewed as a da Vinci trademark
Now one art historian believes he has uncovered new evidence that the great man inserted himself not once, but twice, into his famous mural, The Last Supper.
Ross King, the author of the international best-seller Brunelleschi's Dome, makes reference to a poem written in the 1490s, while Leonardo was painting The Last Supper, by his friend Gasparo Visconti.
In it, Visconti makes fun of an unnamed artist for putting his image into his works 'however handsome it may be'.
Dr King also cites the famous portrait of a man in red chalk, sketched around 1515, which is thought to show Leonardo in his advancing years.
He has a Greek nose, flowing hair and a long beard, much like the faces of the apostles Thomas and James the Lesser in the 500-year-old Last Supper.
Clues: According to Dr King, the portrait of a man in red chalk (left), believed to depict da Vinci around 1515, has similar features to those shown in the two apostles. Some art experts also believe the Mona Lisa (right) may be a self-portrait
Steeped in history: The Last Supper was painted on an end wall in the dining hall at the monastery of Santa Maria delle Grazie in Milan, Italy, for Leonardo's patron Duke Ludovico Sforza and his duchess Beatrice d'Este
Thomas's upturned finger was also considered by contemporaries as a trademark Leonardo gesture.
Dr King told the Independent: 'The Last Supper is the only work that no one, either crackpot or academic, has tried to identify as a Leonardo portrait.'
Renowned Leonardo scholar Charles Nicholl said: 'Of all the apostles that (Leonardo) would wish to be identified with, I think Doubting Thomas would be top of his list because Leonardo was a great believer in asking questions rather than accepting what people tell you.'
The Last Supper was painted on an end wall in the dining hall at the monastery of Santa Maria delle Grazie in Milan, Italy, for Leonardo's patron Duke Ludovico Sforza and his duchess Beatrice d'Este.
It has faded substantially over time, but underwent a 21-year restoration from the 1970s which sparked considerable controversy because of the subsequent changes in tones and colours.
Finding images of Leonardo in his paintings has become a popular pastime with academics, with some even suggesting that the Mona Lisa is in fact a self-portrait in disguise.
Bloomsbury Publishing will publish Dr King's latest research in Leonardo And The Last Supper on August 30. It will also feature as BBC 4's Book of the Week at the same time.
Read more: http://www.dailymail.co.uk/news/article-2189604/The-Last-Supper-Fascinating-new-theory-suggests-Leonardo-da-Vinci-used-face-TWO-apostles.html#ixzz2Y6gwC81F
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