Thaddeus and the Venice Drawing: Comparison
This page examines the comparison between the head of Thaddeus in The Last Supper and the Venice Head of Christ attributed to Leonardo da Vinci. Because the mural is in a very deteriorated state, the analysis relies first on the most reliable early copies, especially Giampietrino’s, so as to work from a legible morphological basis.
The full study is available as a PDF: Study of Thaddeus and the Venice Drawing
The Last Supper – Leonardo da Vinci
Mural – c. 1495–1497
The Last Supper and the Venice Drawing
Executed for Santa Maria delle Grazie between 1495 and 1498, The Last Supper depicts the moment when Christ announces the betrayal, prompting the apostles’ reactions.
From the early nineteenth century onward, Giuseppe Bossi connected the Venice Drawing with The Last Supper by relating it to a type of apostle. Other art historians later extended this comparison, without treating the drawing as a direct preparatory study for the mural.
The connection with The Last Supper is therefore plausible within the Milanese and Leonardesque context, but its precise function remains debated.
See the dedicated page: Leonardo’s Last Supper
Three Copies of The Last Supper
The very deteriorated condition of the mural does not always allow a sufficiently precise reading of Thaddeus’s face. The early copies therefore provide a more secure comparative basis here.
Three versions are retained: the copy attributed to Giampietrino and/or Boltraffio (Royal Academy, London), that of Marco d’Oggiono (Écouen), and the Tongerlo version. The large copy attributed to Giampietrino and/or Boltraffio also served as a documentary reference during the modern restoration of The Last Supper.
See the dedicated page: Three copies of the Last Supper
The Last Supper (Giampietrino/Boltraffio)
Royal Academy of Arts, London
– Date: c. 1515–1520
– Dimensions: 302 × 785 cm
– Technique: painting – oil on canvas
The Last Supper (Marco d’Oggiono)
– Location: Château d’Écouen, France
– Date: between 1506 and 1509
– Dimensions: 206 × 575 cm
– Technique: painting, oil on canvas
The Last Supper (Tongerlo, Belgium)
Production of Leonardo’s workshop?
– Date: c. 1507–1509 / 1520
– Dimensions: 418 × 794 cm
– Technique: oil on canvas
Thaddeus in The Last Supper
In this study, Thaddeus is approached not first through gesture, but through the construction of his head. Broad forehead, marked brow ridges, slightly curved nose, parted lips, and hair arranged around a central part: these features form the basis of the comparison with the Venice Drawing.
See the dedicated page: Thaddeus in the Last Supper
Thaddeus: the Reference Copy (Giampietrino)
Before any comparison with the Venice Drawing, it is necessary to determine which image of Thaddeus provides the most reliable basis. Four versions are set side by side: Leonardo’s present mural, the copy attributed to Giampietrino, that of Marco d’Oggiono, and the Tongerlo version.
See the dedicated page: Thaddeus: the reference copy
To compare these figures with one another and with the Venice Drawing, an alignment protocol was established using two structuring references: a vertical axis running from the top of the skull to the lower lip for scaling, and an anchoring point at the nasolabial fold for superimposition. This method neutralizes differences of scale and orientation. Within this framework, the version attributed to Giampietrino appears to be the clearest comparative basis.
Thaddeus and the Venice Drawing: Comparison
The comparison between Thaddeus and the Venice Drawing is based on the superimposition of structural axes and on the examination of the main morphological markers. The correspondences are too numerous and too precise to be explained by a simple impression of analogy. The issue is therefore not one of vague resemblance, but of the same constructive scheme.
This formal kinship belongs within a logic of internal reuse of models, often noted in Leonardo. As Frank Zöllner observed, the artist could adapt already elaborated schemes to different contexts.
See the dedicated page: Thaddeus and the Venice Drawing – Comparison
Adam–Thaddeus: Possible Reuses of the Model
The kinship observed between the Venice Head of Christ and Thaddeus does not stop with The Last Supper. A closely related facial type reappears in certain works from the Milanese milieu, notably in Adam and Eve attributed to Giampietrino.
See the dedicated page: Adam–Thaddeus: Possible Reuses of the Model
