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Leonardo Da Vinci, the noted
Italian artist painted the Last Supper. It took seven years for him to
complete it. The figures representing the twelve Apostles and Christ himself
were painted from living persons. The life-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 exhibiting
innocence and beauty, free from the scars and signs of dissipation caused by
sin.
Finally, after weeks of laborious
search, a young man nineteen years of age was selected as a model for the
portrayal of Christ. For six months Da Vinci worked on the production of this
leading character of his famous painting. During the next six years Da Vinci
continued his labors on this sublime work of art. One by one fitting persons
were chosen to represent each of the eleven Apostles -- with 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. For weeks Da
Vinci searched for a man with a hard, callous face, with a countenance marked
by scars of avarice, deceit, hypocrisy, and crime. A face that would
delineate a character 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 his requirements
had been found 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, which betrayed a character of viciousness and
complete ruin. At last the famous 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 picture was being
painted. For months he 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 representing the traitor and betrayer of our Savior.
As he finished his last stroke, he
turned to the guards and said, I have finished. You may take the prisoner
away. As the guards were leading their prisoner away, he suddenly broke loose
from their control and rushed up to Da Vinci, crying as he did so, "Da
Vinci, 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, "Oh 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."
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