Pope Julius II and Renaissance sculptor Michelangelo were at odds, but the Pope insisted he paint the Sistine Chapel ceiling. No painter, I, the artist balked. Nonetheless, it took him four years, mostly lying supine on scaffolding.

Under the auspices of the O’Mealia Outdoor Advertising Company, Jersey City-born artist Louis N. Riccio eagerly agreed to paint a 15′ by 25′ billboard in Secaucus to laud the Metropolitan Museum of Art’s exhibition in 1963. It took him four days, eight hours per day, to paint an incredible likeness of da Vinci’s most celebrated work. At the time, Riccio was 29. His career continued to make history.

See the billboards along the roads? Art? Not like the ones by representational artist Louis Riccio of Brick Township. He spent 20 years on scaffolding as he hand-painted huge billboards. Working in tempera and other mediums, he maximized all he learned from legendary New Jersey artist John Grabach—in addition to three years of art school in New York City and six years at the Newark School of Fine and Industrial Arts. He painted da Vinci’s The Last Supper in two and a half months. “I follow the traditions and work ethics of the old masters,” says Riccio, 90, who served in the Korean War as a medic. Given his career as an award-winning painter, Riccio’s landscapes, portraits and still lifes will never be taken from sight as his billboards were long ago.

See the billboards along the roads? Art? Not like the ones by representational artist Louis Riccio of Brick Township. He spent 20 years on scaffolding as he hand-painted huge billboards. Working in tempera and other mediums, he maximized all he learned from legendary New Jersey artist John Grabach—in addition to three years of art school in New York City and six years at the Newark School of Fine and Industrial Arts. He painted da Vinci’s The Last Supper in two and a half months. “I follow the traditions and work ethics of the old masters,” says Riccio, 90, who served in the Korean War as a medic. Given his career as an award-winning painter, Riccio’s landscapes, portraits and still lifes will never be taken from sight as his billboards were long ago.