The lost “Last Supper”
LIGHT MODE
DARK MODE
Get 1 year from 27.50 €

Digital and paper subscriptions available worldwide

Subscribe now

The lost “Last Supper”

bookmark
Mon 12 Sep 2016 8:07 AM

In art you search to create that which has never been done before. That’s the goal of an artist. To take that idea before you and transform it into something the world has never seen. This is what The Medici Dynasty Show has accomplished: an original English-language theater production set in a Baroque-style church with frescoed ceilings and decadent arches.

The church itself is within the walls of Il Fuligno, a former convent dating to the Renaissance period turned conservatory school for orphaned girls in the early 1800s. The poor, the elderly, the rich and the parentless would find themselves there due to life circumstances. They were subjected to domestic work and did not have a voice, yet they persevered.

Although Il Fuligno has undergone many restorations, some frescoes still remain including The Last Supper, a 15th-century painting by Bicci di Lorenzo and his pupils. It was once situated in the women’s cenacolo, main dining room, and is now a hidden gem in a tiny corridor. Only the bottom half of the fresco is intact, containing the beautiful characteristics of an early Renaissance painting. The realism is evident in the three-dimensional angles of the floor, the shading in the folds of the robes and the shadowing under the loaves of bread.

The Last Supper by Bicci di Lorenzo and his pupils

The Last Supper by Bicci di Lorenzo and his pupils

Il Fuligno is a culturally, historically and artistically rich building with a long past that tells the stories of women, girls and artists from the time of the Renaissance until 1973 when the school closed. Today, the building offers social housing to those in need and cultural activities while keeping its heritage and art alive.

Related articles

ART + CULTURE

The future Sant’Orsola museum: a preview

From June 1 to July 2, a section will open for free guided tours of the inaugural exhibition Beyond the Walls of Sant’Orsola.

ART + CULTURE

Roberto Patella at Gallery Hotel Art

The Volatility of Being photography exhibition is being hosted at the Lungarno Collection hotel near the Ponte Vecchio.

ART + CULTURE

Intreccio Creativo: the pleasure of making

Meet six artists who care about sharing their craft with others.

LIGHT MODE
DARK MODE