Leonardo di ser Piero da Vinci was born on April 15, 1452, and died on May 2, 1519. He was an Italian polymath of the High Renaissance who was active as a painter, sculptor, architect, engineer, scientist, draughtsman, theorist.
According to Wikipedia, "While his fame initially rested on his achievements as a painter, he also became known for his notebooks, in which he made drawings and notes on a variety of subjects, including anatomy, astronomy, botany, cartography, painting, and paleontology.
"Leonardo was educated in Florence by the Italian sculptor and painter Andrea del Verrocchio. He began his career in the city, but then spent much time in the service of Ludovico Sforza in Milan. Later, he worked in Florence and Milan again, as well as briefly in Rome, all while attracting a large following of imitators and students."
Wikipedia also stated that "Leonardo is among the greatest painters in the history of art and is often credited as the founder of the High Renaissance. Despite having many lost works and less than 25 attributed major works—including numerous unfinished works—he created some of the most influential paintings in Western art.
"His magnum opus, the Mona Lisa, is his best-known work and often regarded as the world's most famous painting. The Last Supper is the most reproduced religious painting of all time and his Vitruvian Man drawing is also regarded as a cultural icon."
Interestingly, relatively few of Leonardo's designs were constructed or feasible during his lifetime, as the modern scientific approaches to engineering and metallurgy were only in their infancy during the Renaissance. Some of Leonardo's smaller inventions, however, were manufactured without much celebration, such as a machine for testing the tensile strength of wire and an automated bobbin winder.
Below are six of Leonardo DiVinci's paintings that Olivia studied. After observing them for some time, she shared what she could recall about each picture.
Mona Lisa
This painting is painted as oil on wood. The original painting size is 77 x 53 cm (30 x 20 7/8 in) and is owned by the Government of France and is on the wall in the Louvre in Paris, France.
Olivia remembered:
- In the picture, there's a woman sitting on a chair on what looks like a balcony.
- In the background, you can see some mountains, what looks like a lake or an ocean, a river to the right with a bridge going over it, and to the left what look like what could be part of the river or - what I'm thinking - is a road.
- The woman is wearing a what a green dress with gold sleeves and she has some sort of shawl with armholes that goes over the dress.
- Her hair looks like it is slightly curly and it looks like she is wearing a light veil to protect her hair. You can see a little bit of it to the left.
- She is not wearing any jewelry.
- Her eyes seem set deeply in her face, and there's a hint of a smile, but not a full smile.
- Her left arm is resting on the arm of her chair, and her right arm is on her wrist of her left arm.
- She seems very relaxed.
- The colors of the picture seem kind of muted.
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The Last Supper
Olivia remembered:
- In the picture, there's a long table and at the table there are a bunch of people. At the center of the table, you have Jesus, and you have people on both of his right and left.
- Starting with the people on the left side of the picture, they all look like they are leaning a little bit towards Jesus...and they are listening to what the other side of the table is saying.
- The person closest to Jesus on his right side is a woman who I'm guessing is Mary. Sitting next to Mary is a man holding a little jug of wine...I'm guessing there's wine in it.
- They all have a robe and then they have another robe over one side, and they are all dressed like that.
- To the right of the picture, you have a man sitting next to Jesus and he has his arm out - like he is going to turn Jesus away from someone else because the man behind him - who looks like he is going to talk to Jesus and doesn't look very happy - he is pointing up towards the ceiling.
- The people at the end of the table on that side look like they are having an argument amongst themselves.
- They all kind of have the same hair length and style. There's a wave in it. If they don't have that hairstyle, their hair is short or they are bald.
- Also, one of the disciples is wearing the same exact outfit as Jesus....or at least that's what it looks like in my version of the picture.
- They all have sandals on.
- The room that they are in looks like it is in the shape of a rectangle. There are four openings/doorways on each side. At the very back wall, there looks like there is a doorway and two windows on each side of the doorway.
- There are some mountains in the distance and what looks like a green field.
- Kind of in front of the table, but short enough down so it's not blocking the table, is this stone thing that looks like a tombstone.
- On the table, there's food, but you can't tell what it is. There are some oranges and pears on the table.
- The ceiling is broken up into squares to give it a pattern.
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Study of a Horse
Olivia remembered:
- This isn't a full picture...it is a sketch, just like the title implies.
- You have a side view of the horse and then part of the front view of the horse - of the chest and one of his legs.
- You can see this horse is one that they use for chariot pulling because there are a lot of muscles in the chest area.
- You can tell that there are a lot of muscles because of all the shadowing he did.
- You can see on the side profile of the horse, part of its tail, what appears to be part of his hind legs. You can tell one is really defined - the one being lifted up.
- The horse's mouth is open.
- The tail is kind of curly.
- It looks like DiVinci was having a hard time getting the proportion of the legs right because you can see some lighter marks.
- On the main drawing, he didn't finish the front leg, but it isn't the same for the other one. The other leg on the front view of the horse is complete.
- You can see the joints where the horse bends his leg.
- It is all neutral tones, and there isn't a ton of shading.
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Virgin of the Rocks
A very similar painting in the National Gallery, London, is also ascribed to Leonardo da Vinci, and ascribed a date before 1508. Although it was originally thought that this painting was done by Leonardo's assistants, the study of the painting during its restoration led the conservators to conclude that the greater part of the work was done by Leonardo.
Virgin of the Rocks was painted for the chapel of the Confraternity of the Immaculate Conception, in the church of San Francesco Maggiore in Milan. In 1781, it was sold by the church and bought by Gavin Hamilton, who took it to England. After passing through various collections, it was bought by the National Gallery in 1880.
Olivia remembered:
- In the picture, there is a woman who I am thinking is Mary, an angel sitting on the ground.
- There's a bunch of rocks around them and in the background.
- Some of the rocks that are closer to her that have this moss kind of stuff on them.
- The other woman who is with her is an angel and she is sitting on the ground with her hand to the back of a child who is sitting and looking at Mary.
- Both Mary and the two children have very thin, golden halos around their heads.
- The sky is blue and there looks like there is a little island in the distance.
- Mary is wearing a blue dress and she has a cloak that is also blue.
- One of the kids has what looks like a short, golden cross.
- None of the kids are wearing shirts. They only have a diaper on.
- The rocks are rounded - like Aspen's ears - and the ones to the left of the picture are kind of staggered in heigh, and a little bit around the bottom looks like a mouth opening up.
- Trying to think....the grass is kind of yellowish.
- She doesn't appear to be wearing any jewelry.
- It's a very simple sash around her waist, but it looks like it could support the weight of a child.
- Mary's hair appears to be kind of curly.
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The Burlington House Cartoon
Sometimes called The Virgin and Child with St. Anne and St. John the Baptist, this drawing was done by Leonardo DiVinci in charcoal and white and black chalk. He used eight sheets of paper that are glued together. It is very large in format and size and thought to be a cartoon for a painting. However, no painting by Leonardo exists that is based directly on this cartoon. The Burlington House Cartoon can be seen at the National Gallery in London.
Olivia remembered:
- In the picture, there are four people - two women and two kids.
- One kid is on the lap of Mary and the other is standing - I believe.
- The whole picture is on a tan/cream-color piece of paper.
- In the upper right corner, there are some darker lines. It looks like it might have been a city that was drawn back there.
- Mary's foot looks like she only has two toes.
- She is wearing a dress, though it is hard to tell.
- The child on Mary's lap looks like he may be getting a spanking.
- There's no halos or gold in this picture.
- There's not a lot of attention to the feet - it's blurry. It's like he didn't actually draw them.
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Madonna and the Yarnwinder
This painting can be seen in Edinburgh at the Scottish National Gallery. For Olivia's graduation trip, we will be going to Scotland and England, and hope to see this painting.
Olivia remembered:
- In the picture, there is a woman and child who is sitting on her lap and doesn't have any clothes on.
- There's this big needle that is used for winding and it looks like it is on a stone, and is meant to turn.
- In the background, there's the ocean and what looks like a little island.
- The woman is wearing a dress and you can't tell what color it is - either a very earthy tone or black.
- There's no halo again...definitely not a religious picture.
- The sky is very blue.
- There is no yarn that I can see.
- Again, the hair is kind of curly. I'm wondering if people just had curly hair back then.
- I'm not sure what she is sitting on. Maybe another rock?
- The kid's eyes are open - like he is looking at what he is doing, and her eyes are cast down.
- It's a very simple background.
- Her hand is around the kid. His hands are around the needle.
- You can't see her feet. His feet are in Mary's lap. I think he's standing...I don't think he's sitting.
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1 comment:
What a fascinating man he was--both his talent and his mind. :)
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