Study the picture given below and answer the following questions:

(a) Identify the painting and name the artist who made it. Name another famous painting by the same artist.

(b) Write a short note on the artist who made this painting.

(c) What changes occurred in the style of painting as a result of the Renaissance spirit in Europe?

(a) The given painting is 'The Last Supper' by Leonardo Da Vinci. 'Mona Lisa' is the other famous painting by him.

(b) Leonardo Da Vinci was a great painter, sculpture, musician and a scientist. Da Vinci's interests ranged far beyond fine arts. He studied nature, mechanics, anatomy, physics, architecture and weaponry. He refined his skills of painting and sculpture and trained in Mechanical arts under Andrea del Verrocchio. He saw science and art as complementary rather than distinct disciplines, and thought that ideas formulated in one realm could, and should, inform the other. He spent a great deal of time immersing himself in nature, testing scientific laws, dissecting bodies (human and animals) and thinking and writing about his observations. In the early 1490s, Da Vinci started documenting about four broad themes — painting, architecture, mechanics and human anatomy. He created thousands of pages of neatly drawn illustrations. His paintings of the 'Virgin of the Rocks', 'The Last Supper' and 'Mona Lisa' are great masterpieces of art.

(c) The artists of the Renaissance period refused to abide by medieval rules and tradition. They adopted new artistic methods such as frescoes for wall pictures, oil colours and woodcuts. They studied optics and geometry and used their knowledge to develop perspective in their paintings. They also studied human anatomy to find the mechanism underlying gestures and expressions. They were able to show their talent without being restricted by the rigid rules of the church. The Renaissance painters had a humanistic secular approach and produced highly artistic and life like paintings.