Applause goes out to the expert team of the company Hal9000, a digital photo artist studio in Italy, where they restore photos, and are famous for taking in-depth (Expert quality, high res) views of famous paintings, and the most recent being, legendary Leonardo Da Vinci’s, ‘Last Supper’, which was showcased on October 27th, at 9:30am CEST.
There is a photo of the Mona Lisa on the site, in Da Vinci's bio, and Gaudenzio Ferrari, Vita di Cristo is definitely been digitally mastered.
Oh the time and effort it took for Hal9000’s master craft of creating the world’s largest digital image to date, of Da Vinci’s, Last Supper, seems to be worth it, as the details of this image are incredible. These guys should make it in the Genus World Records, 2009.
What makes the series of digital art so intriguing is the time and preparation these guys take in the setting up, and the running through of their photo shoots. The ‘Last Supper’ isn’t simply a picture that they took from a book, or an incredibly large panorama picture from a camera. It took them months of prep work, getting permission to photograph the image, having a team of historian professionals ensure all guidelines are brought to their attention and maintained regarding the safety of the delicate painting.
As in my previous article, detailing the method of painting chosen by Leonardo De Vinci, here’s a little recap.
During the years, 1495 commencing to the end date 1497, Da Vinci decided not to paint in a fresco, (you see back in De Vinci’s day, fresco painting was the usual method in creating a wall mural). Fresco, meaning it was painted on damp or wet plaster, was undesirable to Da Vinci, due to the fact that the a fresco cannot be altered as the painting evolves, and it did take him four years to create the painting, he decided that it was best to paint it ‘a secco’ which means on a dry wall, or dry plaster wall.
That method was usually frowned upon due to the fact, that painting a fresco, meant that when the painting dried, it became absorbed into the wall, the painting would not peel off, but with ‘a secco’ it is very difficult to seal the painting. Leonardo spent a lot of time sketching the mural prior to painting, and he did take special care in plotting out his design. He also did his best to seal the mural, using such techniques as applying a layer of gesso, and mastic, then he painted with tempera. The problem is, after a short time, the painting started peeling off the wall, and years later a bombing in Italy had shaken the wall, and it’s a miracle it’s still there. Restorations have been made over the years, but were poorly done, and since, technology has improved, the layers of touch up paints have been removed, and better versions of touch ups have been applied.
Back to the photography.
Any wrong moves, any ultraviolet lights, anything stepping out of what the painting can handle could cause damage. And respect for art seems to be what Hal9000 stands for, and they took the best of care to ensure that all safety precautions were met.
Next, they had to plot out the photo shoot, and decide how many shots they’d need, map out the series, and plan very carefully every cubic meter of the 460 × 880 cm, 15x29 foot mural. You see, it took them about 1677 images, which they stitched together in a rigorous panorama program. They again used the Nikkon D2X camera, along with a host of specialized equipment. The details are all on the site, for those interested in the digital photography, you can download the pdf file right off their site, it’s listed on the press release link, with the details of the photography by Nikkon, and the HAL9000 team, with the write ups on how it all came together. It’s intriguing how delicate and difficult it was for them, and how brilliantly they pulled it all together.
Some of the things you might want to look for while examining the mural, that other’s have claimed to see.
Firstly, a brief outline of what’s believed to be the proper order of the Apostles attending Christ’s table.
Starting from the left.
Bartholemew, James I less, Andrew, Judas, Peter, Youthful John (or Mary Magdalene)
Christ (Middle)
Continuing on from the left to right.
Thomas, James I Great, Phillip, Matthew, Thaddeus, Simon.
What experts have claimed to see.
- Above the figure of Bartholemew, you’ll see a Grail-like image on the wall.
- The painting as a whole, has a cluster of geometrical shapes, the meaning still being considered, but when you look at it a certain way, you can see a golden chalice appear.
- And when you look at a small zoom, you can see the Holy Grail (Chalice cup, just in reach of the image of Christ, even thought it's been said there is no cup.) used in the first Eucharist, The First, Holy Communion, the Lord's Supper.
- Lastly, it’s been said that in the part of the picture, where Simon and Peter are, and John is sleeping, it is said there is a hand holding a dagger, attached to no one. It could mean that there is an apostle missing in the mural, and Mary Magdalene is in-fact present beside Christ. Some say that it’s Peter’s hand, because he had been known to be deadly with a knife and cut off a soldier’s ear in John 18:10.
Slavisa Pesci, an IT guy, created a mirror image of “Last Supper, and then put it with a proper picture, and concluded that:
1. You could see a Templar knight on the far left
2. And when you look at a small zoom, you can see the Holy Grail (Chalice cup, just in reach of the image of Christ) used in the first Eucharist, The First, Holy Communion, the Lord's Supper, as has been established.
3. And a female cuddling a baby in her arms, (in orange) to the left of Christ.
My grandmother always had a painting of Leonardo’s Last Supper on her wall, and as a child I had always thought his mother, Mary was by his side. I always thought it was a female, she looked so beautiful, and why wouldn’t a mother want to be with her son at the Last Supper?
It wasn’t until years later, when I read the Da Vinci Code, that I learned that Mary Magdalene could possibly be the one next to Christ, and could actually be his wife. Then it all came to life, and sounds so logical.
A funny thing.
When Mary is referred to in the bible, quite similarly to John, it’s difficult to differentiate between the two. There were two John’s and two Mary’s. Everyone was taught that Mary Magdalene was the first to be there when the large stone moved after Christ’s death, but in naming names even in the bible, it’s sometimes is misunderstood which John is John, and which Mary is Mary. And now we wonder, could what we thought to be a young version of John, in-fact be Mary? (Some people say John was left out, because one, Mary and John didn't get along, and two, no one would question Mary's presence if John was absent.
HAL9000, in 2007 Link.
To catch a view of the famous painting of Leonardo’s ‘Last Supper’, in a whopping 16 Billion pixels on HAL9000's site, here’s the link, just for you. They also have a poster for sale, but I am not sure of the cost.
http://haltadefinizione.deagostini.it/en/
Hats off to ‘The great Hal9000 team’ Who are:
Luca Ponzio-Production manager, Mauro Gavinelli-Haltadefinizione technical supervisor, Vincenzo Mirarchi-Concept and design, Mauro Gavinelli, Vincenzo Mirarchi, Agostino Temporelli-Photography, Costanzo Zingrillo-Development and planning, Paolo Conti-Pointing Device Adapting Advisor, Alessandro Fabbri-Legal Advisor, Carmen Nuzzolo, Paolo Mira, Lorenzo Morganti-Art Advisors, Walther Ruspi-Iconography, Mattia Milani-Backstage Supervisor, Vincenzo Mascaro- IT Supervisor
Feel free to periodically check back, I am always updating my articles, and if you have any myths to share, let us know below.
Peace be with you.
Written by: Sacreeta
Sources in part: HAL9000 site, Religious Research in my local church!
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