The Last Supper Goes Online with 16B Pixels
The Last Supper Goes Online with 16B Pixels
October 29, 2007: In an extraordinary imaging feat, Museum officials in Milan brought Leonardo Da Vinci’s masterpiece “The Last Supper” online over the weekend, and did so with an astonishing resolution of 16 billion pixels.
The incredibly high resolution image, which is 1,600 times more detailed than a picture taken with a 10 megapixel camera, will enable viewers to zoom right in to any area on the work as if it was a satellite photo. This will let experts and the general public see details such as Da Vinci’s brush strokes, composition drawings and much more as if they were standing inches away from the painting with a magnifying glass.
“You can see how Leonardo made the cups transparent, something you can't ordinarily see,” museum curator Alberto Artioli told BBC News. “You can also note the state of degradation the painting is in.”
The offering of the image online will no doubt please those wanting a closer peek without having to travel to Milan, especially considering it can be hard to get in for a viewing with over 350,000 visitors dropping in to see the work each year.
Due to its popularity, concerns about degradation of the piece also prompted the high resolution scan, which will enable the painting be preserved in digital form for future generations to appreciate and study.
The work can be viewed online at www.haltadefinizione.com.
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