Why Art Restorers Ruined Leonardo's Masterpiece

Leonardo da Vinci’s The Last Supper has undergone multiple restoration processes throughout history — the most recent one lasting over 20 years. During that restoration, experts used a similar painting made by one of Leonardo’s students, Giampietrino, as a reference. However, they made a crucial mistake that altered a small yet significant detail of the masterpiece.

Today, it’s almost a miracle that The Last Supper still stands. Yet experts estimate that only about 20% of what we see today was actually painted by Leonardo himself.

What mistake could the restorers have made? And could it really be so important that we might say they ruined Leonardo’s masterpiece?

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0:00 Introduction
1:24 Why Did Leonardo Paint The Last Supper?
2:34 The Technique
4:08 The Wall Where It Was Painted
5:24 The First Failed Restoration
6:49 The Bombing of the Church
7:53 Giampietrino’s Version
9:26 The Controversial Detail

#arthistory #art

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