Leonardo Da Vinci.
The Renaissance Man.
Leonardo da Vinci was regarded as an astonishing virtuoso, even by his contemporaries of the time. Born in 1452 he was at work long before Michelangelo and Raphael who are considered to be the two other great masters of the High Renaissance. Little is known about his early life, da Vinci simply means, of the town of Vinci, a town in the territory of Florence.
His early apprentership began at the age of fourteen, in the workshop of painter and sculptor Verrocchio. Verrocchio was one of the most renowned artists of his day and other painters with conections to his workshop include Botticceli and Ghirlandaio, however Leonardo Da Vinci is the artist who is mostly associated with Verrocchio.
In this workshop the young Leonardo would have learned many skills and was introduced to metalwork, perspective, plaster casting, carpentry and mechanics, in addition to painting and drawing.
"The Baptism of Christ". by Verrocchio and Leonardo.(1472–1475) (w)
The first account of Leonardo's genius is seen in the painting of The Baptism of Christ, the angel on the left of the picture is attributed to him. This painting, executed mainly be the hand of Verrocchio, is now in the Uffizi Gallery in Florence. It has been suggested that Virrocchio thought Leonardo's work to be so superior than his own, that he vowed never to paint again.
Leonardo became a Master in the Guild of Painters in 1472 and had his own workshop in Florence. In 1476 he was accused of sodomy, he was acquitted of the charge, but there is no record of further work by him until 1478. He was commissioned to paint an altarpiece, The adoration of the Kings, for a monastery just outside Florence. The work (about eight feet square) is unfinished, probably because Leonardo had left Florence for Milan.
Among Leonard’s notebooks is a letter to the Duke of Milan, claiming that he could do almost anything, from engineering for the military through to acting as architect, sculptor and painter. Two of Leonard da Vinci's most famous works were commissioned in Milan, the Virgin of the Rocks (two versions exist, one in the Louvre and one in the National Gallery in London) and, "The Last Supper".
The Virgin of the Rocks
Leonardo da Vinci, The Last Supper. Milan (1498) (w)
Personal Opinion:-
This picture has deteriorated over the years and is now in a poor state of preservation. Leonardo's experiments with different painting mediums on The Last Supper have backfired and, perhaps with hindsight, he should have used the tried and tested fresco techniques of the period.
The painting covers one wall in a hall in the monastery of Santa Maria delle Grazie in Milan. At the time of its unveiling we can only imagine the impact it must have had on the monks, they certainly would not have seen anything so lifelike. To the monks they must have felt that they were almost taking part in The Last Supper itself.
Last Supper, detail (s)
The bad state of preservation is apparent in this detail.
In Milan Leonardo worked on various projects for Ludovico il Moro (The Duke of Milan) including modelling huge clay horse intended to be cast in bronze. Like much of his work, this project was never completed and was eventually destroyed by the French who invaded Milan in 1499.
Leonardo fled to Venice and was employed as an engineer and worked on methods of defending the city from naval attack. He had many scientific plans with concepts far ahead of their time, these included plans for a flying machine (he had observed and studied the flight of birds). Leonardo also studied anatomy and was given permission to dissect corpses and, as his anatomical drawings show, he was one of the first to explore the growth of a child in the womb.
Leonardo da Vinci, anatomical drawing. child in the womb. (w)
(c. 1510) Royal Library, Windsor Castle
Leonardo Da Vinci's most famous drawing is The Vitruvian Man, the figure of a naked man placed within a circle and a square. The arms and legs are shown in two positions superimposed on one another, it was made as a study of the proportions of the human body.
The Vitruvian Man
In 1500 Leonardo was back in Florence, and around 1502 painted the wife of a Florentine official, the Mona Lisa, destined to become the most famous image in art. Also in 1502 he was employed by Cesare Borgia as a military engineer and architect, and travelled throughout Italy with this notorious adventurer.
"The Mona Lisa" oil on wood, 77x53cm, Louvre, Paris. (w)
Personal opinion:- I was disappointed with the way the Mona Lisa was displayed in the Louvre. It was encased in a glass cabinet and set back quite a few feet, several sets of headphones were available and gave a commentary on the painting in various languages. I like to get close to a painting and almost touch the brushstrokes and, as the Mona Lisa is quite small, it was too far away for any intimate inspection. This does not distract from the greatness of a work that has been copied countless times, but is probably due to overzealous security at the Louvre.
Self Portrait 1512-1515.
Is this really the man himself? (w)
Leonardo Da Vinci spent his latter years in Rome and finally, in France at the court of King Francis 1st, where he died on May 2nd 1519.
The Vitruvian Man
The Virgin of the Rocks
from:- Leonardo Da Vinci to Michelangelo
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