Long-hidden details found in 'Last Supper' reworking

December 3, 1981

Restoration of Leonardo da Vinci's ''Last Supper,'' perhaps the best-known painting in the world, is revealing details unknown for almost 500 years. Four years of partial restoration work on the 15th-century mural, depicting Christ Jesus' last supper with his apostles, reveals the diners sitting in a tapestried room, eating oranges, and drinking from gold-rimmed glasses - all long-obscured details, experts say. Also, Leonardo originally painted Simon with light chin stubble, not the long beard added by later restorers, an expert says. Restoration of the rest of the mural is expected to take another three years.