Overview

Leonardo Da Vincimore commonly Leonardo da Vinci or simply Leonardo, was an Italian Renaissance polymath whose areas of interest included invention, painting, sculpting, architecture, science, music, mathematics, engineering, literature, anatomy, geology, astronomy, botany, writing, history, and cartography. He has been variously called the father of palaeontology, ichnology, and architecture, and is widely considered one of the greatest painters of all time. Sometimes credited with the inventions of the parachute, helicopter and tank, he epitomised the Renaissance humanist ideal.

Career

• At the age of 14, Leonardo da Vinci became an apprentice to one of the greatest painters of the time, Andrea del Verrocchio. He learned to paint and sculpt under him and was also taught the basics of metallurgy, drafting, chemistry, botany, cartography and carpentry at his workshop.
  
• By 1472, Leonardo qualified as a master in the Guild of St. Luke, an association of artists and doctors. Da Vinci was so attached to Verrocchio, that he abandoned the workshop that his father set-up and continued to collaborate with his master on a number of pieces.
  
• One of his earliest drawings is ‘Arno Valley’, a sketch of the valley of the same name, which was made on August 5, 1473, with the help of Verrocchio.
  
• From 1478 to 1480, he painted ‘Madonna of the Carnation’, an oil painting, with the central motifs of Young Mary and Baby Jesus on her lap and a carnation in her left hand. Originally, the painting was believed to have been created by Verrocchio, but historians later agreed that it was purely one of Leonardo’s early works.
  
• In the year 1500, Leonardo was appointed as the military architect and engineer and was asked to devise a plan to defend the city of Venice, from naval attack.In 1502, he entered the service of Cesare Borgia, the son of Pope Alexander VI, and created a map of Cesare’s city at a time when maps were not very common. Around the same time, he also created a town plan of Imola in order to win the dignitary’s patronage.
  
• In the Renaissance period, both science and art were considered important and Leonardo was vastly ahead of his time. His works in science and engineering were as impressive as his art.

On View

• J. Paul Getty Museum, Los ANgeles
• The Louvre, Paris
• National Gallery of Art East Building, Washington D.C.
• Uffizi Gallery, Florence
• Royal Collection Trust
• National Gallery London
• British Museum, London
• Museum of Fine Arts, Budapest
• Galleria Nazionale Di Parma, Parma

ArtWorks

Annunciation

This painting depicts Virgin Mary being visited by The Archangel Gabriel who has been sent by God to announce to her that she would miraculously conceive and give birth to Jesus, the Son of God. The subject was very popular for artworks and was depicted numerous times during the Renaissance.

Ginevra de Benci

It is admired by many for its portrayal of Ginevra’s temperament. She looks beautiful, but austere with no hint of a smile, her gaze, although forward, seems indifferent to the viewer. Directly behind the model in the portrait is a juniper tree. This is an intended a pun on her name as Italian for juniper is ginepro. Portrait of Ginevra de’ Benci is considered an influential work in portrait painting.

Lady with an Ermine

The portrait features Cecilia Gallerani, mistress of his patron Ludovico Sforza, the Duke of Milan. The work is a prime example of Leonardo’s expertise in painting the human form. It can be seen in the outstretched hand of Cecilia. Leonardo pays great attention to each fingernail, each wrinkle around her knuckles and covers even the flexing of the tendon in her bent finger.

Mona Lisa

he Mona Lisa has been acclaimed as “the best known, the most visited, the most written about, the most sung about and the most parodied work of art in the world”. Its fame rests, in particular, on the elusive smile on the woman’s face which is why it is also known as “la Gioconda”, or the laughing one.

Portrait of a Man in Red Chalk

This is the only surviving self-portrait of Leonardo da Vinci. It shows an old, wise looking man, with long beard and hair, staring at the viewer. Perhaps due to this it has become an iconic representation of Leonardo as a polymath or “Renaissance Man”; and hence has been reproduced innumerable times. It is to be noted that there are a few historians who don’t consider it as a self-portrait primarily because the figure looks much older than Leonardo was at the time (60yrs).

Saint John the Baptist

This piece depicts St. John the Baptist, a major religious figure in Christianity who used baptism as his central sacrament. Prior to this work, St. John had traditionally been portrayed as a lean ascetic and Leonardo’s innovative depiction proved to be influential in later portrayals of the saint, including those by the famous artist Raphael.

Salvator Mundi

Salvator Mundi depicts Jesus Christ as Salvator Mundi (Savior of the World). It shows him in Renaissance clothing while giving a benediction with his raised right hand, and his left hand holding a crystal sphere.

The Adoration of the Magi

This painting was the first prestigious commission of Da Vinci. It was given to him by the Augustinian monks of San Donato. However the painting remained unfinished as Leonardo departed for Milan the following year. The unfinished masterpiece depicts Virgin Mary and child Jesus with the Magi kneeling in adoration, and a group of people surrounding them. In the background a pagan building is apparently being repaired, while on the right, men on horseback are fighting.

The Last Supper

This painting represents the scene of The Last Supper of Jesus with his disciples. In it, Leonardo masterfully depicts the bewilderment and confusion that occurs among the disciples of Jesus when he announces that one of them would betray him. Leonardo’s detailed knowledge of anatomy, light, botany and geology; his interest in how humans register emotion in expression and gesture; and his subtle gradation of tone; all come together to make this painting among the most revered and famous works of all time.

Virgin of the Rocks

It depicts the moment when the infant John the Baptist, escorted by an angel, visits the Madonna and child Jesus returning home from Egypt. In the scene depicted, John recognizes and worships Jesus as the Christ. The painting places the graceful figures in a wild landscape of tumbling rock and whirling water, from which it gets its name.