Museum of the Last Supper by Andrea del Sarto

The Museum of the Last Supper by Andrea del Sarto, in Florence, is found in some rooms, originally the ancient Vallombrosa monastery of San Salvi, and gets its name from the famous fresco by Andrea del Sarto (1486-1530) on the walls of the refectory.

The work, 5 metres long and 8 metres tall, was completed between 1526 and 1527; miraculously saved from the siege of Florence in 1530, it represents a very high moment in the production of the Florentine painter, of whom other important works are preserved here. The fresco is placed about a large arch where there are medallion paintings with the Trinity and four protecting Saints of the Vallombrosa order.

The apostles are gathered to watch the moment when Jesus announced that someone has betrayed him, just like in the Last Supper depiction by Leonardo da Vinci in Milan, but the characters are still sitting like in the one by Ghirlandaio in the church of Ognissanti in Florence. Judas is on the right of Jesus, while John is on his left, Jesus’ favourite disciple stands almost alone in the centre of the piece. The upper part of the word depicts in an original way a terrace where two people attend a scene below.

The museum keeps other important works from 16th-century Florence by masters like Giorgio Vasari, Ridolfo del Ghirlandaio, Pontormo and Raffaellino del Garbo. There are fragments of a funerary monument of San Giovanni Gualberto displayed here, sculpted for the Badia di Passignano by Benedetto da Rovezzano between 1507 and 1513.

Accessibility information: feelflorence.it