Artist and Title

Cosimo Rosselli was an Italian Renaissance painter born in Florence in 1439. He is best known for his frescoes, including the one we will discuss here: The Last Supper.

Size and Media

This masterpiece measures 349 cm x 570 cm and was created using the fresco technique. Fresco is a painting method in which pigments are applied to wet plaster, allowing them to become part of the wall itself as it dries.

Date and Location

Created between 1481-1482, The Last Supper can be found in the Sistine Chapel within Vatican City, Rome, Italy. It forms part of a series depicting scenes from the life of Jesus.

Details of the Painting

In this fresco, Rosselli captures the moment after Jesus announced that one of his apostles would betray him. The reactions of the hearers are diverse: some touch their own chests, others whisper to each other. At the center sits Jesus, with the apostles at his side. Judas is depicted on the side, from behind, reinforcing his negative connotation. A fighting cat and dog further emphasize this point. The table holds no meals but a single chalice in front of Jesus; some gilded or silvered kitchenware is shown in the foreground. This work demonstrates Rosselli's skillful use of color, which gained him appreciation from Pope Sixtus IV despite being considered one of the less gifted painters at the Sistine Chapel according to Giorgio Vasari.

Visit and Purchase

If you plan to visit Rome, make sure to include Vatican City in your itinerary to see The Last Supper and other remarkable artworks. For those who cannot travel, high-quality handmade oil painting reproductions of this piece are available for purchase at https://WikiOO.org. Note: While every effort is made to reproduce these masterpieces accurately, slight variations may occur due to the handmade nature of our products. The Last Supper (Rosselli) - Wikipedia: https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Last_Supper_(Rosselli) The Last Supper by ROSSELLI, Cosimo - Web Gallery of Art: https://www.wga.hu/html/r/rosselli/cosimo/lastsup.html Cosimo Rosselli: The last supper - ArtBible.info: https://www.artbible.info/art/large/659.html