Dr. Barton: Did Leonardo paint Mary Magdalene?

My short answer to the question is, no. I have read all the arguments, and looked at copies of the Last Supper, even at enlarged photographs, and I simply cannot see what Langdon thinks I ought to see. What I do see is St. Peter whispering in the ear of St. John the Divine. Leonardo varied the appearances of the men in his painting, so that each apostle looks different. St. John is represented as a young man, and therefore beardless. A similar depiction was adopted in a painting in a Church in Plymouth, by Rev. W. Haslam, in 1855. Haslam adorned the chancel of his Church with twelve niches, and in each he painted an Apostle, "after a true Mediaeval pattern." I will let Haslam say the rest. He is criticizing a newspaper reporter's description of the pictures: "My favourite figure, St. John, upon which I bestowed extra pains, the provoking man would have it, was St. May Magdalene, leering at the apostle next to her, or at the one opposite - it did not seem clear to him which; but her head was down on one side in a bewitching attitude." (Rev. William Haslam, From Death into Life (London, Morgan and Scott, no date) P. 235)
Leonardo is in good company!

In addition it ought to be pointed out that the Last Supper is in a terrible state, so that very little can be made out clearly.
'What of the 'M'?' some have asked. Well, the Last Supper was painted in Milan, and Leonardo's patron was nicknamed Il Moro. That's enough 'M's for me!