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Leonardo Da Vinci and His Famous Artwork Ryan Beck April 10, 2000 Early Modern World Mr. Daur Sometimes the heavens endow a single individual with such beauty, grace and abilities that, whatever he does, he leaves all other men far behind, thus demonstrating that his genius is a gift of god and not an acquirement of human art. (1) Giorgio Vasari. On April 15, 1452, Leonardo Da Vinci was born as an illegitimate child. Even with this setback, he was soon educated and his passion for art began to flourish. Growing up through the years in one of the most important cities in the world at that time, Florence, Leonardo had many different and exciting experiences. Not much information is known about his youth.
He created a few paintings in that time, but only a few are still in existence today. One experience he had during this time was in his early 30 s. He was caught committing homosexual acts with a man that posed for him in a painting he had made. Leonardo was tried for this in Milan, but no evidence came through to prove that he was guilty. (2) Now there is evidence still being found about his life, and this experience, that would determine his sexuality.
Still he prospered as an artist and his work flourished during his lifetime. Leonardo created many paintings that spurred from his own imagination, but most of them were based on events happening in his life One of his great masterpieces that influenced his life was The Last Supper. This creation is probably one of the two most famous paintings he has done, and one of the few still around today. It is one of his most popular creations, and was attempted at restoration many times. These attempts never fully succeeded, but progress has been made over the years.
There is much hassle about the restoration and preservation of it even today. Through the centuries, the wreckage of his masterpiece has been the most troublesome task that restorers have ever taken (4). More success now has happened than ever before, but the creation is not repairable. Leonardo became obsessed with this painting, and the study of the subjects to appear in it. The Last Supper had taken him over two years to create.
He constructed many studies involving the painting. Most were about the physical features of the saints. (5) In one of his studies, he made a wonderful sketch of the creation to come. This study also has been ruined over these 500 years, but new computer technology has been able to restore the sketch as if it was redone. Even with restoration the painting looks as if it has a great piece missing to it, and to fill that old piece would make the painting amazing again.
He made each and every person in this painting unique, having different facial expressions according to what is said in the bible. This realistic component of the painting made it overwhelming to look at. In the late 1940 s the painting was in a perilous state and was turning to dust. Italy's Ministry of Fine Arts sent Mauro Pellicoli, a master restorer, out into the world to find something to hold the painting together. With the new invention that he had found, he began to take away all the attempts at repainting it, and showed the natural beauty of it. (6) This new method had even brought forth a mistake that Leonardo had made during his time painting this. Even so the methods used here made the painting look like it was when it was first created, or at least that the painting ever could look like its natural self.
Leonardo had many events going on in his life at that time. He was around 50 years old at the time of this creation, and many political events were happening. The attack at Milan had just demolished The Horse he had created for the Duke Lodovico, he had started to study the anatomy very often, and was also interested greatly with inventions. Leonardo had just started to gain pupils.
He treated each of his pupils with great respect. One of them, which he called a little devil, it was believed that the pupil always stole from Leonardo. It was also believed that he had also had sexual relations with this pupil, and this is the reason why he kept him as an apprentice. (7) The Last Supper has a religious value to people, and maybe why this painting became so famous. It expertly describes the actions and reactions of all the subjects of the painting, and is a larger than life realistically painted masterpiece.
This scene in Jesus life was amazing, and Leonardo knew that he had to make his painting that way too. It spurred many peoples imaginations, making them create their own versions of it. Many people copied the ideas of Leonardo, but no one ever dared to copy it completely. (8) This masterpiece had a great impact on all people who had viewed it. It changed Leonardo's life completely, and affected greatly anyone who viewed the painting. (9) The Mona Lisa is the other of Leonardo's famous paintings.
It was the best of Leonardo's portraits, and was copied many times. This painting set the standards for painters of the past, now, and of time to come. In no other of his paintings has the viewer been as mesmerized as this. Even the background of the painting is a wonderful landscape. It is aerial perspective at its finest. (10).
There is an interesting story behind the inspiration that Leonardo had to make this masterpiece. As he was working on the Battle of Anghiari, he had lost interest in it. He had always had trouble finishing his works, and this was one of those times. One Reason was great damage had been done to that painting.
Council of Florence demanded another painting from him, or pay for the supplies needed to create that painting. This pressure made him start the portrait of The Mona Lisa. (11) After the painting was created, Leonardo actually kept it for himself. (12) He kept it in a monastery near Florence. The painting was almost stolen by the duke of Milan. He had raiders launch an attack on the monastery where it was being held. The monastery was demolished but Leonardo got away with it safely, to present to Louis XIII himself. Since then the painting hasnt passed through the ownership of too many people, but it is still in existence today.
During this time period, Leonardo had just dropped a work that wasnt finished. He was always known for not completing most of his projects, but this one was different. It was saved, but still ruined during the attack. The Mona Lisa was copied over and over again many times. Imitations are easy to recognize because the beauty of the masterpiece is extremely difficult to duplicate (13). The beauty of the subject, the background, and the life effect that it has been given contribute to it being a masterpiece.
It was observed over and over again by thousands of people, and each time they were mesmerized. Many different people have had their own imitations. Many didnt have obvious parts that were needed in the masterpiece. Such as the background wasnt detailed enough, or her fingers were placed wrong. This could easily determine the copies from the original. This just shows how influential that Leonardo was to some other artists during his time, and even now.
Walter Pater compares the way the painting is almost real, and the fact it is only a portrait, in this quote. He expertly describes her as... older than the rocks among which she sits; like the vampire, she has been dead many times, and learned the secrets of the grave; and has been a diver in deep seas, and kept their fallen day about her; and trafficked for strange webs with Eastern merchants, and, as Leda, was the mother of Helen of Troy, and, as Saint Anne, was the mother of Mary; and all this has been to her but as the sound of lyres and flutes. (14) Just like The Last Supper, the Mona Lisa has begun to deteriorate, but not as much as the Last Supper had. It is easily seen that most of the background of the painting has been painted over, but some parts of the masterpiece are still recognizable. (15) Even so the painting is still a masterpiece, and a piece of art that is renown and envied by many artists. This painting also took two years to complete, as did most of his great works. As was said by Vasari, Her smile is more divine than human. (16) It was believed that Leonardo hired musicians, jesters, and others to always keep the smile, for the painting to be truly magnificent.
The expression captured in her face was described as the eternal womanhood (15), which is expertly described in the quote on the page before. The way she was positioned was unusual for Leonardo also. It was different than all his works in his recent genre. The subject is seen at half-length, seated, slightly turned, gazing towards the spectator. The background isnt a darkness where it stands out like the others, but a beautiful landscape. (16) As one person said, Unreal and dreamlike, and yet precise as a map steeped in dampness and dissolved mists. (17) Ottino Della China The charm of this woman, and the smile and romance that she spreads to all her viewers is unreal and enchanting. The background blending with the beauty of the subject mesmerizes anyone to look at the painting, which makes this painting all too well known.
It is now known as the most famous painting in the world. (18) Leonardo therefore overcomes the dilemma between the idea and its realization, because he places the painting at the service of his conceptual meditations, and painting is at once an expressing and visualizing medium. (19) The horse that Leonardo did for Duke Lodovico was another impressive work of art, but maybe not as famous. Even though the sculpture was never finished, it is still admired as an amazing piece of artistic ability. From 1480 - 1483, Leonardo put three hard years into the studying and working on this horse. He became obsessed with the studies, and spent most of his time on this project. Unfortunately it got destroyed before it could be finished. From the 1470 s- 1480 s, Leonardo was living in Milan.
He was succeeding greatly as an artist, inventor, and many other things. Leonardo began his obsessions with his inventions, when Duke Lodovico, the Duke of Milan at the time, made him create a monument. This monument was to honor his father, one of the greatest of Milan's leaders. The statue was to be of his father, going into battle on horseback.
Since the Duke knew that Leonardo was an accomplished painter and knew about anatomy, he hired him for the job. Leonardo was furious. He had wanted to work on his inventions, and not concern himself with art at the time. But still, he did as he was instructed. For almost a year, Leonardo did research on the anatomy of horses. He did hundreds of sketches; planning out what position the horse would be in, what the horse would look like, and other things.
He soon finished the sketching and began to work on the full size clay model. This model even took Leonardo a few months to create. (21) It had to be exact, because this is what the bronze casting would be shaped from. Being a perfectionist, it was only natural to take large amounts of time doing his works. He made sure that the structure was anatomically correct, and that it was in a position to celebrate the triumph that the Dukes father had created.
The sculpture came out to be magnificent. (22) All that had left to be done on the horse was to make the bronze casting on the horse. About a week after it was finished, there was an attack on Milan. The city fought bravely, but fell quickly. During the battle a horrible thing had occurred. The attackers demolished the horse. It was an extremely sad day for Leonardo.
And after it had been all over, he decided to work on his inventions again once more. By this time Leonardo had gotten old. He was in his late 40 s early 50 s when this had happened. Even so, he was still producing inventions far ahead of his time. Many sketches of flight, war machines, and others filled up his notebooks. His paranoia soon took over his life, and thoughts.
He did all of his writing backwards, so no one could read it, and had secluded himself a little so people wouldnt steal his ideas. Thoughts of death soon took over his mind. Leonardo was obsessed with it in the last years of his life. He made many sketches and a few paintings of death, what it was like, how he imagined it, and his vision of the apocalypse.
His idea of the apocalypse was a different view than others may have had. It was an idea that all the elements of the earth, would equal out, and the earth would erase all life on its surface and there would be complete tranquility. (23) He had these ideas until his death in 1519. Leonardo's life affected his work in many ways. Being a perfectionist made him spend a lot of time on his works, and making them magnificent. From the beginning to his life with his explorations, to the end with his thoughts of death, influenced his paintings and the subjects in them.
The Last Supper, the Mona Lisa, and the Horse for the Duke all told a little bit about his life. His art influenced his life and his life influenced his art. Leonardo created many paintings that spurred from his own imagination, but most of them were based on events happening in his life. He was a great Renaissance man who will be remembered for centuries to come. Cianchi, Marco. Leonardo Da Vinci's Machines.
Milan: Be cocci Editore, 1984. Cooper, Margaret. The Inventions Of Leonardo Da Vinci. New York: The Mcmillan Company, 1965 Mannering, Douglas. The Art of Leonardo Da Vinci. New York: Excalibur Books, 1981 Santi, Bruno.
Leonardo Da Vinci. Italy: Harper &# 038; Row Publishers, 1983 Wallace, Robert. The World of Leonardo. New York: Time Incorporated, 1971 Leonardo Da Vinci Museum. web
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