[1] The Last Supper located outside of town was painted in the abbey of Badia di Passignano, a religious hermitage under the order of Vallombrosians, founded by Saint Giovanni Gualberto in the eleventh century.

[2] All three of Ghirlandaio's frescos of the Last Supper were placed in the refectory, or main dining hall, where all of the nuns or monks of the convent or monastery would have eaten their meals.

[2] In the late fifteenth century, artist Domenico Ghirlandaio painted three frescoes depicting the Last Supper between Jesus and his Apostles.

[1] The Last Supper is an important biblical story where Jesus and his disciples dine for the final time together before his death by crucifixion.

[1] The Last Supper shows images of Jesus and the Apostles sitting around a pronent dining table in the shape of a U.

[1] Jesus is shown near the center, with his right hand raised and index and middle fingers together, which is an archetypal gesture of bestowed blessing.

Judas sits apart on the near side of the table, as is common in early depictions of the Last Supper in Christian art.

It is likely that Leonardo da Vinci was familiar with this treatment of the subject, as well as that of Castagno, and painted his own Last Supper in a more dramatic form to contrast with the stillness of these works so that more emotion would be displayed.

[7] Domenico's stylistic approach draws attention to the recession of space and illusionistic the depth at the back of the room and around the windows, along with the presence of corbels, and the placement of figures.

[7] The work has been described as reflecting the quintessential style of Domenico Ghirlandaio: an overall balance of the symmetrical composition, a naturalism observed in the figures' faces, hair and draped, as well as a clarity in the color palette.

[2][7] By contrast, Castagno's other famous Last Supper fresco (1440-1450) in the refectory of the convent of Sant'Apollonia, also in Florence, was likely never even seen by Domenico.

[7] Ghirlandaio's fresco in the San Marco convent also shows an interest in realistically depicting the space in figures at a U-shaped table, along with two window arches of noticeably different sizes.