A Leonardo Da Vinci Story

Believe it or not, but there is a famous story that some of you may not have heard before.
Some say it is fiction, others SWEAR it is the truth...
I will share it here anyway.....

The artist Leonardo Da Vinci, was commissioned to paint the Last Supper.
In it, he used live models to portray Jesus and the twelve disciples.

In order to convey the bodily postures and the facial features accurately, he spent a long time looking for each model.

It is thought that Da Vinci's painting, actually started the romantic notion of portraying Jesus wearing his hair long and with a beard, and that it is NOT true to historical form.

It is believed that Jesus never wore his hair and beard this way but it was painted this way because this was the way the Renaissance fashion forwards men wore their hair.

Da Vinci chose a handsome young man as his model for Jesus.
This young man was just engaged to be married and it was said that the artist like the spark shining in the man's eyes...that his whole being just radiated light and joy for life....

It took about two years to finish the painting, and meanwhile Da Vinci was looking for a model to portray Judas.
He was looking for someone with a particularly wretched features.

But Da Vinci was a special person, who is said to believe in seeing the Light (they used the term 'Christ' ) in each person, and he was unable to find someone to pose for his Judas.

After looking for a long time, Da Vinci decided to look not for ugly physical features, but for a man who had some "darkness" about him... Some heavy burden..... Or guilt...

He found a desperately unkempt homeless man in rags in the Apache quarter of Paris.

He approached him and said that he was making portraits, and he needed someone to pose for Judas for him.... Would he be willing to pose for him.... He will pay and provide food....

The man raised his eyes and said: "But Sir, just two years ago, I posed as Jesus for you...."