Da Vinci Museum, museum in Tongerlo, Belgium
The Da Vinci Museum in Westerlo is an art museum that displays a high-quality replica of Leonardo's famous mural the Last Supper. The work was created in the early 1500s and shows the original painting with considerable accuracy, as art experts believe Leonardo himself painted the key sections.
The painting was originally created by Leonardo da Vinci between 1495 and 1498, and later acquired by Abbot Arnoud Streyters in 1545. During French rule, monks hid the canvas for protection, and in 1929 the work survived a major abbey fire that severely damaged the building around it.
The museum houses a copy of Leonardo's Last Supper inside an active abbey, a work that has held religious and artistic meaning for centuries. The setting connects art history with spiritual tradition, and visitors experience it as a space for reflection and respect before this masterwork.
The museum is located within an active abbey with narrow, quiet pathways, so visitors should allow time for orientation and explore the surroundings respectfully. The best times to visit are morning or early afternoon when natural light illuminates the painting clearly, and a button can be pressed to activate additional lighting.
The original da Vinci work has suffered greatly over centuries due to experimental painting techniques and fading, while this replica has preserved how the painting looked in its prime. A special area called the Tith Barn displays detailed photographs of the painting at full scale, allowing visitors to see fine details that are difficult to spot with the naked eye.
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