Chapter 461

"Found it?" Lao Jun quickly connected the connection.

"Well, let's take a look and talk as we go. Without further ado, Zhang Xiaodong directly kept on the phone with Lao Jun and set off.

The Last Supper is in the collection of the Monastery of Santa Maria del Gerchi in Milan, Italy. On the way to the monastery, Zhang Xiaodong told Lao Jun about "Sea" and the things he had investigated before.

Before coming to Italy, Zhang Xiaodong went to learn about the background and legend of the painting "The Last Supper".

To be precise, the painting is based on the New Testament, according to the Gospel of Mark, where Jesus went to Jerusalem for the last time to the Passover, and the chief priests of the Jewish religion plotted to arrest him during the night, but there was no one to lead him. At this time, Judas, a disciple of Jesus, told the chief rabbin, "How much will you give me if I give him to you?" So Judas made an agreement with the chief priests that the man he would kiss at dinner would be Jesus. On Passover, Jesus sat with 12 disciples for the last supper. Surprisingly, during the otherwise peaceful dinner, Jesus suddenly said to the 12 disciples in a melancholy manner, "I want to tell you that one of you is going to betray me!" and when the 12 disciples heard this, each of them had different facial expressions, eyes, and movements. In particular, Judas, who was in a panic, knocked over the salt shaker with his elbow, and leaned back, his face full of horror and uneasiness. And "The Last Supper" shows the tense scene of this moment.

In addition to this background, Zhang Xiaodong also found a point. That is, all along, the layout of the same type of picture in Europe was that the disciples of Jesus sat in a row, and Jesus sat alone at one end. Leonardo da Vinci, on the other hand, had the twelve apostles sit on either side of Jesus, and Jesus sat lonely in the middle. And Jesus's face was reflected by the bright window behind him, looking very solemn. This is a radically different ranking from the tradition, which corresponds to the secrets on the pages of "The Sea".

After listening to what Zhang Xiaodong said, Lao Jun was silent for a long time. "Let's take a look first. Lao Jun said without seeing his expression.

The Monastery of Santa Maria del Gucci is far from the hotel where Zhang Xiaodong is staying, but this is not a problem for Zhang Xiaodong. Although it is necessary to make a reservation for the Last Supper more than 10 or even 20 days in advance, and each visit is not allowed to exceed 15 minutes, no photography, no use of any shooting equipment, and no noise, although such restrictions are required, this cannot stop the enthusiasm of tourists in the slightest.

At this moment, the monastery has already lined up in long queues, and countless tourists, including a large number of Asians, come to admire this masterpiece with reverence. Everyone was waiting anxiously, but they didn't know that there was already a Chinese man who didn't buy a ticket and went in.

The hall of the monastery where the Last Supper is kept is completely isolated from the outside world, and all the doors and windows are covered with aluminum alloy and glass, which is truly constant temperature, constant humidity and fully enclosed. Visitors have to pass through three glass doors to reach the entrance, each of which must be opened after the previous door is completely closed. When the restaurant's quaint doors open to pilgrims, they enter an empty, dimly lit and quiet hall where frescoed walls are illuminated by UV-blocking lights. The other wall opposite it is also painted with a mural depicting the crucifixion of Jesus. The two paintings are explained in detail for nearly 20 minutes, which is the maximum time visitors are allowed to stay in the hall.

At this moment, the beautiful Italian female docent is tirelessly explaining to the tourists, always with a charming smile on her face. But she didn't know that on the blue rope with the work sign on her chest, a very small ant popped out its head, and its eyes were glued to the mural opposite. In addition to staring at the mural opposite, the little ant still didn't look back at the two white mountains, as well as the canyon in the middle of the mountain.

"Alas~Xiaoyou!You really know how to find a place!Can you hide a proper place?" Seeing Zhang Xiaodong's illusion ant hiding in a woman's chest, Lao Jun couldn't cry or laugh.

"You don't know, Lao Jun, this angle is the best way to look at the painting. Zhang Xiaodong said seriously, "But I feel so hot against these two mountains, the heat wave is rolling, and there is a faint smell of perfume." ”

The angle, of course, is good. Look at the mountain is the mountain, and look at the ditch is the ditch. "How's it going, have you sorted it out?" said Lao Jun, speechless.

"Wait a minute, I'm watching. Zhang Xiaodong stared at the mural opposite, but he was a little depressed. Due to the congenital deficiencies of the production process, the entire mural began to be peeled off when da Vinci was still alive, and I don't know how many times it was repeated by later painters, and it is difficult to find which one is the original work of da Vinci. In addition, this holy place has experienced many wars. In addition to the bombardment of Napoleon's artillery, the church was also bombed during World War II. Therefore, the "Last Supper" in front of me has actually been repaired and altered several times, destroying a lot of things. This is fatal for Zhang Xiaodong! Any point of destruction on the front will have a great impact on the negative!

"Leonardo da Vinci didn't lie, there was something on the back. "With Zhang Xiaodong's cultivation, it is natural that he can easily see through this mural, and even the entire wall is no problem. But if this is simple, what Zhang Xiaodong has to do is to see the layering inside, to be precise, the layering of the dye.

"Laojun, I found that Leonardo da Vinci used too many techniques in this painting. Zhang Xiaodong was suddenly surprised, "The front of this painting is an oil painting, and you can't run away." I wondered how he did he get the painting to the back? It's a mural! Now I understand that he used another material to penetrate the walls, similar to the dye of Chinese ink paintings. ”

It was with the dye that penetrated into the painting that Leonardo da Vinci painted a picture that broke the order behind the painting. Zhang Xiaodong said.

"Are you saying that the Last Supper is actually two paintings, but the first painting penetrates the wall and is covered by the second painting?" asked Lao Jun in surprise.

It's like a picture on the front and back of a piece of paper, but the wall is not paper, and the wall can't be turned over. In addition, the dye of the first painting on the opposite side is very special, and it can be separated from the second painting in terms of perception. But the two dyes are actually in close contact, so no one except for people like us can find it!" Zhang Xiaodong continued, "The painting on the back is obviously out of order, so if you don't know the order, you won't think it's a painting." I'm also in the process of sorting out the sequential stitching now. ”

"Well, how is it, is it sorted out?" Lao Jun nodded.

"Come on, I've already found two eyes. It's too messy, it's all pieces. Feet, legs, clothing, fragments. It's too messy!" Zhang Xiaodong's eyes stared hard at the mural, and his divine sense swept over the shattered painting that was covered.

20 minutes in a wave, 20 minutes in a wave, I don't know how many tourists left one after another, only Zhang Xiaodong stayed in the hall alone. As if playing puzzles when he was a child, Zhang Xiaodong's brain was running rapidly, trying to combine those pieces little by little. Hands, shoes, and clothes were combined by Zhang Xiaodong one after another.

Outside, it was getting darker in Milan, and the museum closed at 18:30. And just after 18 o'clock, Zhang Xiaodong suddenly exclaimed, "Lao Jun! I have a combination of faces, an Oriental!"

(To be continued.) )