Leonardo, the Last Supper

Between 1494 and 1498, Leonardo da Vinci painted one of the great Western masterpieces directly onto the wall of the refectory of the Santa Maria Della Grazie church in Milan and it immediately started to deteriorate. Leonardo: The Last Supper documents the process by which, after nearly 500 years and various ""restorations,"" conservators attempted to get the work as close as possible to its original state. For the last 20 years, fresco expert Pinin Brambilla Barcilon has presided over one of the most meticulous and controversial projects in her field. Along with da Vinci scholar and curator Pietro C. Mariani, she here presents ""before,"" ""during"" and ""after"" detail shots of the entire work, explaining the various techniques employed and sources consulted along the way. The 382 color plates and 64 halftones in the lush, slipcased edition are accompanied by extensive, cogent commentary, translated by Harlow Tighe. (Apr.)