Editing The Last Supper (Leonardo) (section)

==== Major restoration ====
[[File:Leonardo da Vinci - Ultima cena - ca 1975.jpg|thumb|upright=1.6|The painting as it looked in the 1970s]]

The painting's appearance by the late 1970s had badly deteriorated. From 1978 to 1999, Pinin Brambilla Barcilon guided a major restoration project to stabilize the painting and reverse the damage caused by dirt and pollution. The eighteenth- and nineteenth-century restoration attempts were also reversed. Since it had proved impractical to move the painting to a more controlled environment, the refectory was instead converted to a sealed, [[HVAC|climate-controlled]] environment, which meant bricking up the windows. Then, detailed study was undertaken to determine the painting's original form, using scientific tests (especially [[infrared]] reflectoscopy and microscopic core-samples), and original [[cartoon#Fine art|cartoons]] preserved in the Royal Library at [[Windsor Castle]]. Some areas were deemed unrestorable. These were {{nowrap|re-painted}} using [[watercolor painting|watercolor]] in subdued colors intended to indicate they were not original work, while not being too distracting.<ref>{{cite book |last1=King |first1=Ross |title=Leonardo and the Last Supper |isbn=978-0-8027-1705-4 |date=2012 |publisher=Bloomsbury |location=New York |url-access=registration |url=https://archive.org/details/leonardolastsupp0000king}}</ref>

This restoration took 21 years and, on 28 May 1999, the painting was returned to display. Intending visitors were required to book ahead and could only stay for 15 minutes. When it was unveiled, considerable controversy was aroused by the dramatic changes in colors, tones, and even some facial shapes. [[James Beck (art historian)|James Beck]], professor of [[art history]] at [[Columbia University]] and founder of [[ArtWatch International]], had been a particularly strong critic.<ref name="guardian">{{cite news |title=The Last Supper or a dog's dinner? |author=Phillip William |url=https://www.theguardian.com/culture/1999/may/25/artsfeatures3 |work=[[The Guardian]] |date=24 May 1999 |access-date=21 December 2012}}</ref> Michael Daley, director of ArtWatch UK, has also complained about the restored version of the painting. He has been critical of Christ's right arm in the image which has been altered from a draped sleeve to what Daley calls "muff-like drapery".<ref name="alberge">{{cite news |title=Have art restorers ruined Leonardo's masterpiece? |url=https://www.independent.co.uk/arts-entertainment/art/news/have-art-restorers-ruined-leonardos-masterpiece-7565727.html |archive-url=https://ghostarchive.org/archive/20220618/https://www.independent.co.uk/arts-entertainment/art/news/have-art-restorers-ruined-leonardos-masterpiece-7565727.html |archive-date=18 June 2022 |url-access=subscription |url-status=live |work=[[The Independent]] |date=14 March 2012 |last=Alberge |first=Dayla |access-date=21 December 2012}}</ref>