Peter Greenaway’s'Last Supper’ installation as seen in Milan in 2008. Change Performing Arts

Artists have been riffing on Leonardo da Vinci’s “The Last Supper” for decades, from Salvador Dali’s 1955 painting to Brazilian artist Vik Muniz’s chocolate-syrup version. Now, Peter Greenaway has joined them.

For 16 minutes, a series of cinematic projections and an accompanying original soundtrack will play over a copy of the painting that, through the use of high-resolution 3-D scanners, faithfully reproduces the original. It’s the first time Mr. Greenaway has shown any of his installation art in the U.S.

Mr. Greenaway projected images on the original in Milan for one night in 2008, then on a nearby replica in an exhibit that drew 55,000 visitors. “The Last Supper” was selected because of its iconic status and because of its increased popularity following the novel “The Da Vinci Code.” Through the artist’s manipulation of light, at various times the figures in “The Last Supper” can appear three-dimensional, and the time of day seems to change.

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Katherine Bindley
Wall Street Journal

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