Milan, shall I skip L's Last Supper?

I spoke about our impressions last week in my http://www.ricksteves.com/graffiti/helpline/index.cfm/rurl/topic/83382/train-journey-london-to-rome.html Trip Report. Day three. Our view may not be your view. Once we got the tickets reserved it was no sweat and fun. If you are there several days no doubt it will be near other of your hotspots.

Thank you both for the input. Nigel, I'm wondering if you were glad you saw it because of the aesthetic experience, beauty of the art, etc, or for other reasons? Your trip report post was what made me wonder if I should take the time to see it (since some large-scale paintings, eg VanGogh's Potato Eaters, really only have their impact when you see the full-size original). So I'd love to understand what about the experience made you see it as so worthwhile. Thanks

Sherry, I'm going to jump in on your question to Nigel. I saw the Last Supper last year. I found it very moving, and I'm not particularly a Leonardo fan although I do appreciate his work. The impact of seeing the original (yes, it is heavily restored but in a very respectful way, I think you can get a better sense of the painting now than in the past few hundred years) in situ (a refectory, which the theme suits perfectly) is not easy to describe. It's in a large, empty room, and although you will see it with a group of other people, you will have ample time for it without feeling rushed. It's not just the painting itself, but the environment of it, and the original size of the piece. Your time commitment will be about an hour (waiting to enter, being in the refectory, and getting out of the building). Milano has a lot to offer besides the Last Supper if you do decide to skip it.

Thanks to all of you for your input! It sounds like something I should schedule in, so I will. It's helpful to know there has been respectful restoration, and I agree it is so wonderful to enjoy art, particularly religious art, in the content for which it was intended. (Guess I was expecting more of a daVinci Code experience, which is why I had dismissed visiting the piece.)

Don't know how much time you have before you depart for your trip, but if you can work it in, Irving Stone wrote a beautiful biographical novel on Michelangelo -- The Agony and the Ecstasy -- a beautiful book on how he read the bible before doing his beautiful works, like The David, The Pieta, and the Sistene Chapel. The man really suffered for his art -- and his intentions when sculpting or painting one of the Biblical Heroes or Saints -- were to convey their individual thoughts and feelings. This book sounds like it would be up your alley. Leonardo, as described in this book, seems a little shallow, among other things. He, on the other hand, always seemed to make the big bucks while poor Michelangelo was starving!

We signed up for the time that offered an English guide. I think I wouldn't have soaked it all in the way I did without the guide talking about the piece, the church's history, etc. I wouldn't have noticed just how feminine John was, sitting next to Jesus, implying maybe it wasn't John after all but his gal pal Mary M!
I was glad I added it to my single day in Milan.

The Last Supper was first on my list to see on our one day in Milan prior to flight home. It did not disappoint. It is incredibly moving, at least to me anyway. I was amazed at the expressions and feeling in the work, and yes, you need to see it.
I just got a headset, not a guide, and that was fine. I also have read the Agony and Ecstasy many yrs. ago, and although all may not be true, it was a very personal look into the life of Michelangelo (he didn't have much good to say about Raphael either from what I remember). The rooftop of the cathedral is the most awesome view, and to be up there with the view and all the statues is amazing.

The Last Supper (L'Ultima Cena, in Italian) is not the only thing to see in that hall. There is another, 'true' fresco on the opposite wall that most don't even notice, or at most glance at when they are walking out. It is the Crucifixion by Giovanni Donato da Montorfano. It was dated 1495, and was painted at the same time as the Last Supper. In fact, Leonardo supposedly added some figures to it, after it was finished. I found myself reflecting more on it than the Last Supper. More information on it can be found here: http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Giovanni_Donato_da_Montorfano I think that it is worth the 8 Euros admission. (Well it was to me, as when I was there last summer, it was in the 90's outside ~35C and the 15 minutes in the temperature and humidity controlled room was worth it!) Enjoy!

Personally, I had to see it! Not because of religion or even as a great lover of art. I just think Da Vinci was remarkable even among geniuses! When I think of his vision, his inventions, what he dreamed of.. much of which is now everyday for us --- I just had to stand in a place that was touched by such an incredible mind! And wonder...was he REALLY just a human being?

We were in Milan for six days last May and we'll be in the area again in October. We didn't see it last May and don't intend to see it in October. But that's just me. I like mountains and lakes and pretty trees. Someone who loves art might consider it at the top of the list.

Art is indeed in the eye of the beholder. The Mona Lisa left me cold. The Night Watch took my breath away. David overwhelmed me. Le dejeuner sur l'herbe made me smile. The Last Supper mesmerized me. You are going to be in Milan for several days. Personally, I'd not miss it.