Wender·Vista
Santa Maria delle Grazie
shown on ceramic, 12-inch tileItaly
in central Milan, west of the Duomo

Santa Maria delle Grazie

— — the room that kept the painting alive.

— Where it lives

Not only on a wall.

A small tile on the nightstand catching the morning. A larger one above the fire. Yours, wherever you spend the slow hours.
— On the nightstand, a 6-inch on a walnut stand
— Among the books, a 6-inch leaning into the spines
— Beside the kettle, a 12-inch propped
— Down a quiet hall, an 18-inch floating off the wall
— Above the fire, the 24-inch in a walnut surround
— a note from the studio

“A Dominican church and convent on Corso Magenta, west of Milan's centre. The refectory on its north side holds Leonardo's Last Supper, painted directly onto dry plaster between 1495 and 1498. The bomb that fell in August 1943 took most of the cloister; sandbags around the wall kept the painting standing. Visitors come fifteen at a time, for fifteen minutes each. — from the studio

from the studio
Santa Maria delle Grazie
— bring it home

Santa Maria delle Grazie, on ceramic.

Each tile is finished by hand in our Knoxville studio. Artwork is slowly infused into the ceramic surface under high heat and pressure, and rests beneath a thin glossy finish. The colour lives in the surface, not on top of it.

What kind of piece?
One tile — square or rectangle.
How big?
the popular one — counter, shelf, nightstand
6 × 6 in · 15 cm · 1.6 lb
Surface finish
A clear glossy finish — the artwork reads as if under resin. Ideal for show-pieces and framed wall art.
How it sits
A hidden cleat — sits ¼″ proud of the wall.
$58
Hand-finished and shipped from our studio at the foot of the Smokies. On your wall in about ten days.
— size
6 × 6 in
15 cm
— weighs
1.6 lb
solid in the hand
— surface
ceramic, hand-finished
art rests beneath a thin glossy finish
— from
Knoxville, TN
our family studio, at the foot of the Smokies
— start a Coaster Set

Pick any four 4-inch tiles — National Parks you've been to, a Smokies set, the four seasons of one place. $ for a set of , cork-backed, ready to live on the table.

— about Santa Maria delle Grazie

The place, in three passes.

A little of what's known, in case you fall down the rabbit hole — or want to go see it yourself.
— the place

Santa Maria delle Grazie sits on Corso Magenta in central Milan, a few blocks west of the Duomo. The church was begun in 1463 under Guiniforte Solari, then reworked by Donato Bramante after 1492; his tribune, dome, and apse remain the building's quiet centerpiece. The adjacent Dominican refectory, on the north flank, has held Leonardo's Last Supper since 1498. The complex was inscribed on the UNESCO World Heritage list in 1980, the painting and church listed together as a single site.

— informed by Wikipedia, UNESCO
— the stone

The church is brick faced in terracotta and white marble, in the Lombard style that Bramante carried north from Urbino. The tribune he added after 1492 is a cube under a hemisphere, with sixteen oculi cut into the drum to drop daylight onto the high altar. On the night of 15 August 1943, Allied bombs destroyed the great cloister and the eastern wall of the refectory; the Last Supper survived because the wall opposite was sandbagged and braced before the raid.

— informed by Wikipedia
— the visit

Entry to the refectory is timed and capped. Groups of about fifteen rotate through fifteen-minute slots, with reservations released months in advance through the Cenacolo Vinciano ticket office. The painting is dimmer than reproductions suggest; the room is conditioned to slow further loss. The church next door is free to enter and rarely crowded. Most visitors miss Bramante's tribune behind the altar, where the proportions soften and daylight falls cleanly across travertine.

— informed by Cenacolo Vinciano
— where
Italy · Milan, Lombardy
— position
45.4659° N · 9.1709° E
— the neighborhood

What's nearby.

A handful of named places within an hour's walk or short drive. Some we've already painted; some we will.
2 km E
Duomo di Milano
cathedral
1 km NE
Castello Sforzesco
fortress
1 km S
Sant'Ambrogio
basilica
2 km E
Pinacoteca Ambrosiana
museum
N
Santa Maria delle Grazie
Duomo di Milano
Castello Sforzesco
Sant'Ambrogio
Pinacoteca Ambrosiana
— common questions

What people ask.

A few questions we get about Santa Maria delle Grazie — and about bringing the piece home.
— about the place

The church holds Bramante's tribune of 1492 and several Renaissance chapels. The adjoining Dominican refectory contains Leonardo da Vinci's Last Supper, painted directly onto the north wall between 1495 and 1498.

Tickets are sold through the Cenacolo Vinciano office, usually released two or three months ahead. Groups of about fifteen enter for fifteen-minute slots, after passing through a dehumidifying antechamber that protects the painting.

The refectory's east wall was destroyed by Allied bombing on the night of 15 August 1943. The wall holding the Last Supper survived because it had been sandbagged and braced. The great cloister was lost.

Guiniforte Solari began the church in 1463 in a late Gothic Lombard style. Donato Bramante reworked the east end after 1492, adding the tribune, dome, and apse that still define the building.

Leonardo painted on dry plaster with tempera and oil rather than true fresco, so the pigment never bonded with the wall. Decay began within twenty years; restorers stabilised what remained between 1978 and 1999.

Yes. The church and the Dominican refectory containing the Last Supper were inscribed on the UNESCO World Heritage list in 1980, listed together as a single cultural site.

— about the piece in your home

It has been a meaningful gift for customers connected to the city. Santa Maria delle Grazie is one of Milan's quieter landmarks, away from the Duomo crowds. A Small or Medium with a note from the studio carries well.

The piece sits well in Italianate, traditional European, and Old-World Eclectic interiors. The deep stained-glass blues of the Voynich treatment read warmly against limewashed walls, walnut, and aged brass.

Yes. Renaissance-architecture art has returned in Italianate and Old-World Eclectic rooms over the last two years. The stained-glass overlay gives the subject a contemporary anchor.

A single Large reads cleanly above most sofas. For longer walls a four-tile Mural fills the field; a nine-tile Mural anchors a wide console or a stair landing without overwhelming the room.

Yes, in the Dura Satin or Matte finish. Both are scratch- and moisture-resistant and rated for vertical installation as a backsplash, shower surround, or guest-bath accent wall.

A soft microfibre cloth and water. The colour is infused into the ceramic surface, so the piece tolerates regular wipe-downs. Avoid abrasive pads and citrus-based cleaners.

Yes. Every WenderVista piece is original to the studio, curated by Reid Wender, with no outside licensing. The studio works from a single eye, one place at a time.

— if this one stayed with you

A few you might also love.

Hand-picked by the eye that found Sorapis. Same air, same kind of quiet.
— a collection

The Italian Dolomites,
painted slow.

The valleys between Cortina and Val Gardena, the tarns you walk an hour to see, the towers that turn the colour of a banked fire just before dark. Wander the collection by valley, by season, or follow the path Reid walked.

Tre Cime
Braies
Misurina
Sorapis
Cinque Torri
Sassolungo
Marmolada