#23 LEONARDO DA VINCI

LEONARDO DA VINCI

Overview of the High Renaissance

The period of the High Renaissance (1485–1520) was introduced by Leonardo da Vinci when he and other creative geniuses, such as Michelangelo and Raphael, took the early forms of Renaissance art to new heights. These painters and sculptors displayed not only technical achievements in terms of controlling light and shade, composition, anatomy, colors and perspective, but their work also showed a rich and original sense of imagination.

OBJECTIVES

Discuss the characteristics of the High Renaissance.
List important events of Leonardo da Vinci's life.
Identify innovations in Leonardo da Vinci's artistic style.
Explain Leonardo da Vinci's influence.

VOCABULARY

LEONARDO DA VINCI: PAINTER, ARCHITECT, SCIENTIST, AND MORE

Leonardo de Vinci, Self-Portrait, circa 1513. — Wikimedia

?koob a rof yap uoy dlouw yenom hcum woH or How much money would you pay for a book? Especially one that was written backwards!?

In 1994, Bill Gates paid more than $30 million for a codex written by Leonardo da Vinci. The Codex Leicester is put on public display once a year in a different city around the world and thousands of people flock to see it. In 1996, the codex was displayed at the American Museum of Natural History in New York City. In its 72 pages, da Vinci used his signature mirror writing to records his thoughts on many topics, from astronomy to hydrodynamics. He also created more than three hundred pen-and-ink sketches, drawings, and diagrams. Da Vinci wrote the codex on loose, double-sided sheets of linen paper.

While the city of Florence was the center of the Renaissance and still held an important place for the production of art, Rome and the papal court, or the court of the pope, attracted important artists as well. Venice also became a leader in artistic production, showcasing the talents of master painters who influenced the future direction of painting.

The most innovative architect of the High Renaissance was Donato Bramante. He was a contemporary of Leonardo da Vinci in Milan, where he produced private palaces and temples. His most notable design was for the new Saint Peter's Basilica, the main church of Roman Catholic Christendom, in 1506. Michelangelo was also famous for his work on this building.

DA VINCI'S LIFE

Leonardo da Vinci was a man of enormous talents. A painter, sculptor, architect, engineer, and scientist, Leonardo studied anatomy, optics, and engineering and applied his discoveries to both art and science. Born in 1452 in Vinci, a small town near the city Florence, Leonardo was the son of a wealthy Florentine notary and a peasant woman.

Around 1466, he was assigned as an apprentice to Andrea del Verrocchip, who was a famous Florentine painter and sculptor. Leonardo was exposed to paintings of altarpieces, panels, and large marble and bronze sculptures.

When he was about twenty-six years old, Leonardo became an independent master. A few years later he moved to Milan to be in the service of the duke, Ludovico Sforza, where he worked not only as an artist but as an engineer and architect as well. He also developed his skills as a mathematician and helped to write a work on proportion.

Mathematics seemed to play a roll in his painting The Virgin and Child with Saint Anne , in which the figures are arranged in a triangular composition, his favorite. The painting displays da Vinci's trademark sfumato, using muted colors and a poetic haze for the figures and landscape. The interplay between Saint Anne (Mary's mother), Mary, and the infant Jesus conveys the idea of lineage and the incarnation of Christ, whose destiny — sacrifice and resurrection — is foreshadowed by the lamb.

In 1500, when the French drove out the duke and his family, Leonardo returned to Florence. There he went to work for Cesare Borgia, Duke of Romagna, and worked as the chief architect and engineer to the duke. He oversaw the construction of the papal territory fortresses in central Italy and also put his engineering talents to use in the war against Pisa.

In 1506, the French governor of Milan invited Leonardo back to Milan. While there, Leonardo became the court painter to King Louis XII of France. Da Vinci would go back and forth from Milan and Florence to visit his half brothers and sisters and to take care of inheritance.

Leonardo lived in the Vatican from 1514 to 1516 where he likely spent his time on research and experiments. He returned to France in 1516 to work for King Francis I. He died on May 2, 1519.

Between 1490 and 1495, da Vinci began to write down copious notes on his experiments and observations. They came to become known as Leonardo's Notebooks. One of his books, the Codex Atlanticus, consists of 1,119 sheets covering his many interests. Leonardo’s work covered for core areas: painting, architecture, mechanics, and human anatomy. These works are displayed in codices and manuscripts that have been collected by historians. The only manuscript by da Vinci in America is the Codex Leicester, mentioned at the beginning of this lesson, housed in the private collection of Bill Gates.

DA VINCI'S ART

Leonardo resembled his teacher in his formative years as an artist. However, he developed a more free-flowing grasp of his paintings. Here is an example of one his earlier accomplishments: The Adoration of the Magi .

While Leonardo was in Milan, the Duke of Sfuzo commissioned him to create several important paintings including Virgin of the Rocks and The Last Supper. Leonardo was a master at the technique of chiaroscuro, which you can see in Virgin of the Rocks . Also in the painting, notice how the use of shadow and light give his paintings a sense of divine presence.

While in Milan, da Vinci created paintings, sketches, drawings, theatre designs, and prototypes for the Milan Cathedral dome. Sadly, most of these works have been lost over the years. His largest work was the bronze monument to Fransesco Sforeza in the courtyard of Castello Sforzesco.

Look at this painting of The Last Supper

— Wikimedia Commons

What do you see?

Do you notice how the apostles are organized into groups of three and that Jesus is in the middle, and that all visual lines in the painting point to Jesus?

Do you see how calm Jesus is in the painting while the apostles look upset?

Also, look at the background of the painting. Notice how the landscape is visible through the windows. This style of painting was actually developed a generation prior to da Vinci by a Florentine painter named Masaccio. Notice also how da Vinci has used his knowledge of optics to create the sense of a great open space.

The Last Supper was painted on a dry, stone wall rather than on wet plaster because da Vinci wanted to be able to modify it as he worked. So he sealed the stone wall with a base of pitch, gesso, and mastic, then used tempera for the painting. However, the base soon began to loosen from the wall, and the painting had been under continual restoration until it was completely restored beginning in the 1970s.

One of da Vinci’s most famous works is The Mona Lisa, also known as La Gioconda. This could have been the name of the woman’s husband. It is interesting to note that da Vinci traveled with The Mona Lisa during his trips. While examining The Mona Lisa, notice that Leonardo used a technique called sfumato, a technique that delicately blends different colors from one area to another. This effect creates somewhat of a blurry or hazy effect.

THE INFLUENCE OF LEONARDO DA VINCI

Leonardo did not produce a large body of finished paintings. However, what he did produce had a profound influence on other painters.

Leonardo's paintings first introduced the idea of atmospheric perspective. Artists such as Raphael, Andrea del Sarto, and Fra Bartolommeo were all influenced by da Vinci’s genius. His work altered the direction of the schools at Milan and Parma.

Leonardo da Vinci: The Universal Man

It is amazing to note that da Vinci laid a foundation for many of today’s scientific and technological advancements.

Here are a few examples:

He made quite a few discoveries in the fields of geography and meteorology
He discovered that the moon has an effect on the tides
His sketching and designs were the first examples of hydraulics
His designs for a flying machine helped lead to correct principles of aerodynamics

The design for a flying machine by Leonardo da Vinci. — Wikimedia Commons

A creator in all branches of art, a discoverer in most branches of science, and an inventor in branches of technology, Leonardo deserves, perhaps more than anyone, the title of Universal Man.

LET'S REVIEW!

In this lesson, you have covered the following topics:

Leonardo da Vinci's work, including The Mona Lisa and The Last Supper
da Vinci's records of his scientific and artistic theories
Some of his scientific theories that were later proven true by scientists

Complete the quiz before moving on.

#23 LEONARDO DA VINCI Quiz

Complete the assessment before moving on.

#23a Leonardo Da Vinci Assessment

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