Santa Maria delle Grazie, Milan Italy, 1497

Name: Xiaoyu Zeng

ARCH161 – M21 LEC(2587)

Santa Maria delle Grazie, Milan Italy, 1497

Gothic(Nave) and Renaissance (Apse and Dome)

Architect(s): Guiniforte Solari, Donato Bramante

[Introduction]

The Church of Santa Maria delle Grazie which is situated in the heart of Milan, is an outstanding work of architecture. It also is an emblem within the Catholic tradition.

This church is a normal church about Virgin Mary. It has brown walls and smooth lines. It seems not any other special thing I can talk about that. However, it is precisely because this normal makes this church becomes an independent church after we combined other beautiful and dazzling churches in Italy. Another reason is that here has a famous painting which name is “Last Supper” from Da Vinci. It hangs in the chapel of the church about convent for the wall of Thanksgiving dining room. It attracted many fans want to come here to watch the painting.

plan and section

[The Last Supper]

This paint is not traditional fresco so that it is very vulnerable to erosion of the external environment. It have repeatedly repaired during hundred s of years. In 1999, artists and scientists repaired and restored the original color on the large area of the painting, and they also removed the color from the past repair. Finally they made it recover the origin as maximum.

The painting’s theme is that of the Gospel of John, in which Jesus announces that one of his apostles will betray him.

Reference:

1.