Akademik

   The refectory of the Monastery of Sant' Apollonia boasts frescoes by Andrea del Castagno executed in 1447. The largest scene is the Last Supper, and above it are the Crucifixion, Entombment, and Resurrection. Castagno's mastery at one-point linear perspective is evident in that the space in which the Last Supper unfolds is so convincing as to appear to pierce the refectory wall to reveal a second room. While little emotion is shown in the facial expressions of the figures in this scene, the marble panels behind them add drama as the veinings are busiest above the heads of Christ, Judas, St. John, and St. Peter. Judas is isolated from the rest by his placement on the opposite side of the table. He is also the only figure without a halo. While the rest of the apostles gesticulate in reaction to Christ's announcement that one of them will betray him and ponder on its significance, Judas keeps his hand movements to a minimum and seems unaffected. The work shows Castagno's focus on the representation of the human form. The figures are individualized and in a variety of poses, their heads and halos foreshortened to enhance realism. The draperies are as well defined as they are in Donatello's sculptures, which were a major influence in Castagno's art. Above the Last Supper, the three scenes, now in poor condition, occupy one pictorial field, though interrupted by the room's two windows, with angels above converging toward the center. The Crucifixion is in the middle, with Christ's head foreshortened to bend toward the viewer below, the Resurrection is on the left, and the Entombment on the right. Christ's seminude body in these scenes afforded Castagno the opportunity to demonstrate his knowledge of human anatomy. Arm muscles bulge in response to the lifting of arms and they painfully stretch to emphasize Christ's suffering.