Restoration of Thaddeus
It can be said that the state of preservation of Tadai is somewhat better than that of Simon. In the case of Simon, the head is almost blank, but some layers of drawing remain on the head. Regarding facial expressions, the outline of the eyes and nose remains, making it possible to decipher Tadai's facial features.
However, these outlines do not remain as they were drawn by Leonardo. The outlines of Tadai's features seen in the mural are additions added by the conservator.
These additions to the painting show the traces of the painstaking efforts of Mr. Pinin Brambilla, who was in charge of restoring this mural.
If all the additions made after Leonardo were simply removed, the wall would be left exposed like Simon's, and the result would be destruction of the painting rather than restoration. She is trying to figure out what direction to take in restoring the Last Supper in her own way.
One answer is this very slight addition to the outline of Tadai's face. Tadai's facial expressions, which could not be deciphered by cleaning and restoration alone, have been restored using only the necessary minimum and last-minute additions.
Looking at this added part, you can see that she is not only an excellent restorer, but also an extremely talented painter.
Restoration process
The outline of the red sea bream that remains on the current wall may be due to Mr. Pinin Brambilla's taste, but I think it is very wonderful.
Although it is a faint shadow, you can feel Leonardo's style.
The restoration of the Last Supper was carried out by Mr. Pinin Brambilla for the right half up to Jesus Christ, and by a team other than Mr. Pinin Brambilla for the left half, and the difference in the level of completion is immediately obvious.
The most difficult part of restoring Tadai was the color of Tadai's hair.
It is reproduced with a grayish gray color instead of a simple pure white.
Despite his facial expressions, depictions of Tadai's clothing are not well preserved.
Most of the walls are exposed.
Since no information can be obtained from the current wall surface, the restoration of Tadai's clothing will be based on information from the reproductions.
Although it cannot be read from the mural, the collars of the apostles were decorated with embroidery.
There is nothing left of Tadai's green cloak on the wall.
The crests on the clothes are based on reproductions, and the color reproduction is based on the cloak of the angel in Leonardo's Virgin of the Rocks.
The expression on Thaddaeus' hand is exactly the same as the pose depicted in Leonardo's drawings prepared for the Last Supper.
You can see that Leonardo is continuing to create the mural according to his initial concept up to this point.
In The Last Supper, Leonardo begins painting from Simon at the far right of the screen. The reason we know this is because only the rightmost part of the mural that Leonardo prepared for the Last Supper matches the actual mural. Then, as you gradually draw to the left, the composition becomes different from the original plan. After Jesus Christ, the original composition was completely discarded and completely redrawn, resulting in a different composition.
There are also changes in the costumes of the apostles. The sleeves of Simon and Thaddeus have an open, trumpet-like structure, but in the later Apostles, the sleeves are tightly fastened at the wrists.
This depiction of the trumpet-shaped sleeves of Simon and Thaddaeus is a characteristic that can be seen on all the apostles in Leonardo's preparatory drawings, and can be said to be a traditional classical costume that is often used in the Last Supper, which was painted before Leonardo. . Perhaps because he disliked such old-fashioned depictions, Leonardo began changing the costumes of the apostles midway through the story.
Comparison of reproductions
Vatican tapestry
Giampietrino reproduction
Under the table, restoration of red sea bream legs
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