the madonna of the carnation

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THE ARTIST’S LIFE AND WORKS IN BRIEF
Chapter 1
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1.1. Brief on paintings and whereabouts
The insurance value of each one of the above paintings lies in the region of
hundreds of million of dollars.
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1.2. The ‘Madonna of the Carnation’ - da Vinci’s Painting
Leonardo da Vinci painted the ‘Madonna of the Carnation’ between 1473 and 1475 at a time that already marked the
end of the Early Renaissance period in Italy. The painting measures 62,3cm x 48,5cm and is painted in tempera and oil
on wood (poplar). It is the earliest Madonna depiction ever painted by Leonardo da Vinci reflecting his exceptional skills
as young artist. The painting sits in a pompous renaissance frame and was part of the private collection of Pope
Clemens VII in around 1550.
Compared with later works of Leonardo it shows the skilful hand of a young, experimental painter who was looking for
new artistic solutions. Although the painting shows that its roots are based in Florence, it stands out from other paintings
that were created during the Early Renaissance in Italy. Leonardo da Vinci’s fascination to combine tradition with the
new rewarded him with very critical attention from his contemporaries and was even rejected at the time. However,
although Leonardo respected the traditional way of painting, for him it !
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The ‘Madonna of the Carnation’ shows ambition of the young artist, to depict human as well as nature through lively
characterisation. The naturalism can be seen in the soft skin of Madonna, in the texture of her drapery and the
increasingly naturalistic depiction of the flowers, the misty blue in the hills that seem to vanish into the back. The painting
is a reflection of all that what we associate Leonardo da Vinci with today. The painting breathes out the soul of a young
genius who had a new outlook onto the world and the way how to show it. Leonardo’s element of chiaroscuro is evident.
The soft light and gradual shading characteristic of Leonardo’s style endow both flesh and drapery with a degree of
softness. The soul of the composition is depicted through gestures of the Madonna and the child.
The Christ child, reaching out for the carnation offered to him by Maria symbolises the love of god for humans, but also
indicates the Christ’s later sacrifice. Maria’s decorative drapery and the vase filled with flowers are traditional symbols for
the purity of Maria. Leonardo’s study of nature and his ability to interpret its rules allowed him to create new forms and
effects even in his early paintings. Content and composition of the painting focus on the carnation together with the
playful act of Maria’s and the Christ child’s hands. It shows the soft protective hand that Maria gives the child so that it
doesn’t fall. The landscape of this painting already implements elements of the sfumato technique, also meaning ‘toned
down’ or literally ‘varnished in smoke’ that has been used with particular success by Leonardo also later, seen by his
defining form by delicate gradations of light and shade to create a misty, dreamlike effect in the background, particularly
evident in his later painting of the ‘Mona Lisa’.
As described in Leonardo’s own notes, his paintings compare flesh to the soil, bones to the rocks and blood to the
waterways. This metaphorical style of thinking which recurs in visual form throughout his paintings is characteristic of
Leonardo’s genius. The trends in the composition of the ‘Madonna of the Carnation’ as well as others painted by
Leonardo later, such as ‘The Virgin and Child with St. Anne’ influenced painters such as Michelangelo, Raphael, and
Andrea del Sarto.
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Chapter 2
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The Madonna of the Carnation – Universal Leonardo Project continued
Madonna of the Carnation
X-Ray taken of the original
Reconstruction of the original
Andre Mimor during the creation of the copy in Munich, which were followed by a camera team.
@
The Madonna of the Carnation – Universal Leonardo Project continued
the 2 copies in comparison
Copy Pinakothek
2nd Copy
Photo of the scientific laboratory: Research on
the original painting by Leonardo da Vinci was
necessary to create a professional copy.
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There are 4 recognised historical copies of Leonardo da Vinci’s ‘Madonna of a Carnation’.
This is the historical copy that most closely adapts to the original. It has
been painted by an unknown Italian artist sometimes in the 16th century.
It is now located at the Muzeul de Arta in Timisoara in Romania and was
given to the museum as a present by the bishop Sàndor Dessewffy.
Compared to the original, this copy relates to the art style of a 16th
century artist; the drapery and soft fall of the textile as well as the
landscape are depicted in a much more simplified way then in the
original. The composition overall focuses more on linear perspectives.
Picture 1
The best known copy is located at the Louvre in Paris. It was first
mentioned in the collection of Ludwig XVIII (Photo 2). The painting was
extended to both sides at a time not known, giving it nearly square
measurements. It differs from the original in landscape as well as in the
manner how the flowers in the vase are depicted. In the background sits
a forestry hill site, something that has been attributed to Johann König (c.
1586 – 1642; recorded in Rome 1610–1613). The figures can be
attributed to a Flemish artist, probably a pupil of Barent van Orly. Other
proof for the copy being of Flemish origin is the depiction of the flowers in
this copy: daffodils, tulips and empire crowns are a reflection of the love
Picture 2
of the Flemish for their gardens.
A further copy (photo 3) can be found at the Courtauld Institute of Art in
London, one that came to London together with the Gambier-Parry of
Highnam Court collection in 1966. It had been in the family since 1888. Möller
recognised in this copy a true repeat of the copy held at the Louvre in Paris
however, also mentions that it was executed in a much harder and more
casual manner. The composition is also much wider, hence adapting to the
Louvre copy. After the research of the original Leonardo da Vinci painting
there is no proof that the original would have been wider initially.
Picture 3
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The copy was commissioned by the Doerner Institute. It
The second copy that was authorised
belongs to the Pinakothek in Munich. It has been
during the process of the making of the
painted by André Mimor, who copied the painting in
first copy is now part of a Private
every detail and according to existing and new research
Collection.
results of Leonardo’s painting techniques.
Copy Pinakothek
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In the Pinakothek copy all colours were painted in a
The
slight lighter tone than in the original painting of
implemented in the second copy. The
Leonardo da Vinci, this to be able to distinguish the
second copy is therefore closer in colour to
copy from the original.
the original compared to the copy of the
Pinakothek.
No further copies were authorised by the museum nor made by the artist.
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Even though we are still impressed with the visual effects of Leonardo
da Vinci’s ‘Madonna of the carnation’, we must also recognise that the
painting would have looked even more impressive at the time when
Leonardo had painted it originally. The research project was to create a
copy with all available historical and traditional materials and
techniques; to create a copy to present how Leonardo’s painting would
have looked without the signs of aging.
Photo of the Copy: Private Collection
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Original painting by Leonardo a Vinci
Copy by Mimor
The copy was painted based on the research of painting techniques executed originally by da Vinci’s on ‘Madonna of the
Carnation’. The copy is to help better understanding of the ageing processes and changes in a painting that is five hundred
years old. Here we must also take in consideration the yellowing of varnishes that we know from old master paintings. The
yellowish-brown pillow could have been of a green tone as we can see quite often the darkening and turning into brown of
copper organic paint mediums that have been used during the renaissance. The blue of Madonna’s drapery is quite well
preserved. However, the ageing of the painting has lead to a loss of intensity of the paint with ultra marine.
%%
Leonardo’s Original vs. the professional copy continued
The intense colours around the lace, in the sky and hills were better preserved. The comparison on the original area of
the drapery with the copy gives you an idea of how the colour may have looked at point of creation.
Original painting by Leonardo a Vinci
Copy by Mimor
The colours and lacks won from plants that were used in the 15th century have only little non-fade properties according
to nowadays scientific knowledge. The copy, which has been created with colours and paints based on historical
traditional recipes and techniques shows an unusual freshness, to which our modern eyes must get used to. Although
the ageing process of some materials used in the original has changed appearance, the artistic individuality and charm
that come across in young Leonardo’s ‘Madonna of the Carnation’ remains 500 years after its creation.
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Leonardo’s Original vs. the professional copy continued
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THE BOOK
The scientific research results, information on the making of the copy and a report on the
special exhibition that was especially dedicated to the Leonardo da Vinci painting the
‚Madonna of the Carnation’ have been published in the german language edition of the
book ‚ „Leonardo da Vinci – Die Madonna mit der Nelke, Ausstellung in der Alten
Pinakothek, München“
Schirmer/Mosel, ISBN 3-8296-0272-3 /978-3-8296-0272-3
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2
André Mimor - son of an artist family - was born in Munich on 05.10.1968.
After completing his Baccalaureate in 1989, he worked as personal assistant to renown art
professors in Vienna from 1990-1992, including for Prof. Ernst Fuchs and Prof. Franz
Schwarz. At this time he further developed his painting techniques.
Through his connection to the Max-Doerner-Institute in Munich, he received his first orders for
the creation of high quality copies of old master paintings at the beginning of the nineties.
Whenever an expert for historical painting techniques was needed, private collectors as well
as museums and galleries approached Mr. Mimor. His high quality works have made him a renowned artist and give him
a specialist reputation also beyond European borders. He painted approximately 50 copies of museum quality in 15
years.
With the creation of the copy of Leonardo da Vinci’s painting „Madonna of the Carnation“ in 2006 he reached a peak of
his challenging artist career. His co-operation with the scientific experts of the Doerner-Institute gave him the opportunity
to paint distinctive copies of famous master pieces.
Besides working for private collectors and for museums in Amsterdam, Berlin, Munich, Vienna and Moscow, he opened
his first own studio in Prien am Chiemsee at the beginning of the nineties. At this time his personal focus was on painting
landscapes.
André Mimor moved to Naumburg in 1998 to await the upcoming birth of his son Julian, who was born in 1999. There he
opened his second studio, where he dedicated most of his time to paint his own art works, where the human body is
always in focus. Overall his works can be allocated in art style to the school of Leipzig. The artist himself uses the term
‘psychological realism’ to describe his own works.
What can be seen in all his paintings is an artistic virtuosity that also shows his talent perfected over many years when
creating copies of old master paintings.
Nowadays, his works can be found in private art collections as well as in museums.
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Leonardo da Vinci
8% 28
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Biography
% 8 B
Leonardo is widely considered to be one of the greatest painters of all time and perhaps the most diversely talented
genius to have lived. He was often described as an Italian polymath. Apart from demonstrating superb draftsmanship in
drawings and paintings he had a passionate interest in the origins of life and in discovering scientific explanations for
natural phenomena.
Though many of his works were never finished, and even fewer have survived, he influenced generations of artists and
he continues to be revered as a universal genius. [2]
LEONARDO’S EARLY LIFE
Leonardo di ser Piero da Vinci was born on April 15, 1452, in Florence. He was the illegitimate son of a notary, Piero da
Vinci, and Catarina, a peasant woman. Little is known about Leonardo's childhood. However, Vasari, biographer of
Renaissance painters writes how a local peasant requested that Ser Piero ask his talented son to paint a picture on a
round plaque. Leonardo responded with a painting of snakes spitting fire which his father found so terrifying that he sold
it to a Florentine art dealer, who later sold it to the Duke of Milan. Meanwhile, Piero having made a profit bought a
decorated plaque, which he gave to the peasant. [5]
VERROCCIO’S WORKSHOP
The artist met the young Leonardo for the first time around 1464 and soon recognised da Vinci’s talent. Aged fourteen,
Leonardo started his apprenticeship with this then leading sculptor of the second half of the 15th century, Andrea del
Verrocchio, known also for his ‘David’ – a famous bronze statute now to be found at the Museo Nazionale del Bargello in
Florence. It is here where Leonardo became familiar with the many secrets of the workshop until 1469.
[4]
Verrocchio's workshop undertook a wide range of commissions including sculpture, decorative metalwork and paintings.
[3]
Much of the painted production of Verrocchio's workshop was done by his pupils. According to Vasari, Leonardo
collaborated with Verrocchio on his Baptism of Christ, painting the young angel holding Jesus’ robe. Here he also met
young painters such as Sandro Botticelli, Domenico Ghirlandaio, Pietro Perugino and Lorenzo di Credi. [4]
%@
Leonardo da Vinci Biography continued
The Baptism of Christ
Andrea del Verrocchio circa 1472-1475
Oil on wood / 177 × 151 cm
Uffizi, Florence, Italy
The Baptism of Christ is a painting finished around 1475 by the
Italian Renaissance painter Andrea del Verrocchio and his
workshop. Commissioned by the monastery church of San Salvi in
Florence, where it remained until 1530, the picture was executed
in the workshop of Andrea del Verrocchio, whose style is well
defined by the figures of Christ and Baptist. The special fame of
the work is due to the pupil who helped him paint it. The blond
angel on the left and parts of the landscape background
belong to the hand of the very young Leonardo da Vinci,
who was in Verrocchio's workshop around 1470. Some
critics
ascribe
the
second
angel
to
another
young
Florentine artist, Sandro Botticelli.
HIS WORKING LIFE
By 1472, at the age of 20 Leonardo had joined the brotherhood of Florentine artists, the Compagnia di San Luca, and he
worked in Florence for the next ten years. He made numerous drawings, however, revealed his growing interest in other
disciplines, including geometry, anatomy and engineering. [3]
Verrocchio gave Leonardo the assignment to complete the face of an angel on the large altarpiece depicting ‘The
Baptism of Christ’ in 1575. Around 1482
[4]
, Leonardo felt stifled and decided that Milan would offer more exciting
opportunities. He wrote to the ruling family, the Sforzas, asking for employment primarily on the grounds that he was an
expert in military engineering. He mentioned his skill in painting and sculpture as an added bonus. Soon after his move
to Milan in 1483, Leonardo signed a contract with the brothers Evangelista and Giovan Ambrogio de’ Predis to decorate
the altarpiece of the Confraternity of the Immaculate Conception of the church of S. Francesco Grande in Milan. It is
then when he created 'The Virgin of the Rocks' to be the central painting. [4] When the Confraternity refused to give what
Leonardo considered a fair price for the painting, he sold it to someone else in disgust and it was some years before the
Confraternity could persuade him to paint a second version - the one that can now be seen in the National Gallery in
London.
Acting as ducal engineer from 1487-90, he collected additional payments for the project of the ‘tiburio’ of the Milan
Cathedral, though he was not commissioned to build it. The project was carried out by Giovanni Antonio Amadeo and
Giovanni Dolcebuono. During that time, in 1488 he started with his studies for the making of a great equestrian bronze
monument for Ludovico il Moro, representing Francesco Sforza. He visited the cities of Vigevano and Pavia in 1490,
where he met the engineer Francesco di Giorgio Martini.
%B
Leonardo da Vinci Biography continued
He described irrigation works of the countryside and projected the Sforzesca, a model farm for the Duke. From 14951498 he worked on his masterpieces ‘The Last Supper’ in the refectory of the Dominican Monastery of Santa Maria delle
Grazie. He painted the Sala delle Asse in the Milano Castle with a fresco in 1498, depicting densely flowered branches
of 16 trees entwined with a long golden string, joining dynastic celebration and representing of nature in all its details.
The Sforza duchy fell under the control of the French armies in 1499 and Leonardo abandoned Milan, leaving undone
the casting of the big bronze horse: his clay model remained in the main court of the Castle. He visited Mantua and
Venice. Leonardo returned to Florence in 1500, where he made the cartoon depicting St. Anne, which is exposed in the
church of Annunziata. He then entered the service of Cesare Borgia as a military engineer in 1502, moving frequently
from Tuscany to Romagna and Marche between the cities of Piombino, Siena, Imola, Senigallia and Cesena, where he
designed a large navigable canal up to the Porto Cesenatico. Back in Florence in 1503, he is working together with the
young Michelangelo on the decoration of the Salone dei Cinquecento at Palazzo Vecchio, where he attends a mural
painting depicting the Battle of Anghiari, that one, however he never completed. This is also the year when he began to
work on his famous painting ‘Mona Lisa’, which he did complete in 1505. Leonardo was called back to Milan in 1506 by
Charles of Amboise, the new city governor, and in the following year summoned by the king of France. For the next two
years he divides his time between Milan and Florence. [4]
OLD AGE
He visited the Sistine Chapel when it was completed by Michelangelo in 1515. Leonardo moved to Rome in the same
year on the invitation of Giuliano de Medici. He devoted his time to geometry and hydraulic engineering, projecting the
drain of the Pontine marsches and surveying the port of Civitavecchia. Some time later he found himself in Bologna with
Giuliano de' Medici and Pope Leo X, to meet the new king of France, Francis I, who invited Leonardo to France to work
for him. 1516 was the year when he became first painter, engineer and architect to the King, moving to the Castle of
Cloux, near Amboise, with his pupil and friend Francesco Melzi the son of a Lombard aristocrat. Leonardo died at Clos
Lucé, France, on May 2, 1519. Melzi inherited the artistic and scientific works, manuscripts, and collections of Leonardo,
and would henceforth faithfully administer the estate.
[4]
Despite the recent awareness and admiration of Leonardo as a
scientist and inventor, for the better part of four hundred years his enormous fame rested on his achievements as a
painter and on a handful of works, either authenticated or attributed to him that have been regarded as among the
supreme masterpieces ever created.
[11]
His paintings are famous for a variety of qualities which have been much
imitated by students and discussed at great length by connoisseurs and critics. Among the qualities that make
Leonardo's work unique are the innovative techniques that he used in laying on the paint, his detailed knowledge of
anatomy, light, botany and geology, his interest in physiognomy and the way in which humans register emotion in
expression and gesture, his innovative use of the human form in figurative composition and his use of the subtle
gradation of tone. All these qualities come together in his most famous painted works, the Mona Lisa, the Last Supper
and the Virgin of the Rocks. [12]
%7
5.1. Leonardo’s Paintings in detail
EARLY WORKS
Leonardo's early works begin with the Baptism of Christ painted in conjunction with Verrocchio (see also Verrocchio’s
Workshop). Two other paintings appear to date from his time at the workshop, both of which are Annunciations. One is
small, 59 centimetres (23 in) long and 14 centimetres (5.5 in) high. It is a "predella" to go at the base of a larger
composition, in this case a painting by Lorenzo di Credi from which it has become separated. The other is a much larger
work, 217 centimetres (85 in) long. [5] In both these Annunciations, Leonardo has used a formal arrangement, such as in
Fra Angelico's two well known pictures of the same subject, of the Virgin Mary sitting or kneeling to the right of the
picture, approached from the left by an angel in profile, with rich flowing garment, raised wings and bearing a lily.
Although previously attributed to Ghirlandaio, the larger work is now almost universally attributed to Leonardo. [13]
Annunciation
circa 1472–1475
Oil on panel
98 × 217 cm
Uffizi, Florence, Italy
In the smaller picture Mary averts her eyes and folds her hands in a gesture that symbolised submission to God's will. In
the larger picture, however, Mary is not in the least submissive. The beautiful girl, interrupted in her reading by this
unexpected messenger, puts a finger in her bible to mark the place and raises her hand in a formal gesture of greeting
or surprise.
[10]
This calm young woman appears to accept her role as the Mother of God not with resignation but with
confidence. In this painting the young Leonardo presents the Humanist face of the Virgin Mary, recognising humanity's
role in God's incarnation.
Ginevra de' Benci (Born 1457) was a lady of the aristocratic class in 15th century Florence, admired for her intelligence
by Florentine contemporaries. She is the subject of one of only 12 extant paintings attributed to Leonardo da Vinci. The
oil-on-wood portrait was permanently acquired by the National Gallery of Art in Washington, D.C., USA, in 1967 for 5
million dollars paid to the Princely House of Liechtenstein, a record price at the time. The Italian word for juniper is
"ginepro", which suggests that the juniper motif may be a symbolic pun on Ginevra's name. Fittingly, juniper was also a
Renaissance symbol for chastity. The portrait is one of the highlights of the National Gallery of Art, and is admired by
many for its portrayal of Ginevra's temperament. Ginevra is beautiful but austere; she has no hint of a smile and her
gaze, though forward, seems indifferent to the viewer. A strip from the bottom of the painting was removed in the past,
presumably due to damage, and Ginevra's arms and hands were lost. According to Giorgio Vasari, Ginevra de' Benci
was also included in the fresco by Domenico Ghirlandaio of the Visitation of Mary and Elizabeth in the church of Santa
Maria Novella in Florence.
C
Leonardo’s Paintings in detail continued
Ginevra de’ Benci
Attributed to Leonardo da Vinci, circa 1476
Oil on wood / 38.8 × 36.7 cm (15.3 × 14.4 in)
National Gallery of Art, Washington, D.C., USA
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Leonardo da Vinci, 1478
Oil on canvas / 49.5 × 33 cm
Hermitage Museum, Saint Petersburg, Russia
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Leonardo’s Paintings in detail continued
PAINTINGS OF THE 1480’s
In the 1480s Leonardo received two very important commissions, and commenced another work which was also of
ground-breaking importance in terms of composition. Unfortunately two of the three were never finished and the third
took so long that it was subject to lengthy negotiations over completion and payment. One of these paintings is that of
St. Jerome in the Wilderness. Bortolon associates this picture with a difficult period of Leonardo's life, and the signs of
melancholy in his diary: "I thought I was learning to live; I was only learning to die." [6]
Jerome, as a penitent, occupies the middle of the picture, set on a slight diagonal and viewed somewhat from above. His
kneeling form takes on a trapezoid shape, with one arm stretched to the outer edge of the painting and his gaze looking
in the opposite direction. J. Wasserman points out the link between this painting and Leonardo's anatomical studies.
[9]
Across the foreground sprawls his symbol, a great lion whose body and tail make a double spiral across the base of the
picture space. The other remarkable feature is the sketchy landscape of craggy rocks against which the figure is
silhouetted.
St. Jerome in the Wilderness
c. 1480 (unfinished)
Tempera and oil on panel / 103 × 75 cm (41 × 30 in)
Apostolic Palace, Vatican City, Italy
The daring display of figure composition, the landscape elements and
personal drama also appear in the great unfinished masterpiece, the
Adoration of the Magi, a commission from the Monks of San Donato a
Scopeto. It is a very complex composition about 250 square
centimetres.
Leonardo did numerous drawings and preparatory studies, including a detailed one in linear perspective of the ruined
classical architecture which makes part of the backdrop to the scene. But in 1482 Leonardo went off to Milan at the
behest of Lorenzo de’ Medici in order to win favour with Ludovico il Moro and the painting was abandoned. [13] [5]
Leonardo’s Paintings in detail continued
Adoration of the Magi
Under-drawing, 1481
Oil on wood / 246 × 243 cm
Uffizi, Florence, Italy
The Adoration of the Magi is an early painting by Leonardo
da Vinci. Leonardo was given the commission by the
Augustinian monks of San Donato a Scopeto in Florence,
but departed for Milan the following year, leaving the
painting unfinished. It has been in the Uffizi Gallery in
Florence since 1670.
The third important work of this period is the ‘Virgin of the Rocks’ which was commissioned in Milan for the Confraternity
of the Immaculate Conception. The painting, to be done with the assistance of the de Predis brothers, was to fill a large
complex altarpiece, already constructed. [9] Leonardo chose to paint an apocryphal moment of the infancy of Christ when
the Infant John the Baptist, in protection of an angel, met the Holy Family on the road to Egypt. In this scene, as painted
by Leonardo, John recognizes and worships Jesus as the Christ. The painting demonstrates an eerie beauty as the
graceful figures kneel in adoration around the infant Christ in a wild landscape of tumbling rock and whirling water. While
the painting is quite large, about 200 × 120 centimetres, it is not nearly as complex as the painting ordered by the monks
of St Donato, having only four figures rather than about fifty and a rocky landscape rather than architectural details. The
painting was eventually finished; in fact, two versions of the painting were finished, one which remained at the chapel of
the Confraternity and the other which Leonardo carried away to France. But the Brothers did not get their painting, or the
de Predis their payment, until the next century. [5] [8]
Virgin of the Rocks
1483–1486, Oil on panel (transferred to canvas)
199 × 122 cm (78.3 × 48.0 in)
Musée du Louvre, Paris, France
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Leonardo’s Paintings in detail continued
The Madonna with the carnation is from the early days in Andrea del Verrocchio’s workshop. The painting is the result of
combining incoming Flemish influences in Florence and at the same time to adapt to his masters techniques.
The Madonna of the Carnation
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Leonardo’s Paintings in detail continued
Leonardo's single most important mature work is his great mural of the ‘Last Supper’. The painting represents the last
meal shared by Jesus with his disciples before his capture and death. It shows specifically the moment when Jesus has
said "one of you will betray me". Leonardo tells the story of the consternation that this statement caused to the twelve
followers of Jesus. [8]
The Last Supper
1495–1498
Tempera on gesso, pitch and mastic
460 × 880 cm (181 × 346 in)
Santa Maria delle Grazie, Milano, Italy
The painting fills a short wall of what was the refectory of
Santa Maria delle Grazie in Milan. It occupies an illusionistic
room receding beyond the space of an existing wall and is
placed above the viewers’ eye level. [1]
Leonardo’s experiments had negative as well as
positive results. Because of his slow, deliberate working
methods, he could not keep pace with the speed
required by the ‘buon fresco’ technique. He seems to
have applied a mixture of oil and tempera to the dry
plaster. Unfortunately, the fusion between pigment and
plaster was imperfect and the paint soon began to flake
off the wall. Nowadays, all we see is a badly damaged
painting, which has undergone several stages of
restoration. [1]
The novelist Matteo Bandello observed Leonardo at work and wrote that some days he would paint from dawn till dusk
without stopping to eat, and then not paint for three or four days at a time. [9] This, according to Vasari, was beyond the
comprehension of the prior, who hounded him until Leonardo asked Ludovico to intervene. Vasari describes how
Leonardo, troubled over his ability to adequately depict the faces of Christ and the traitor Judas, told the Duke that he
might be obliged to use the prior as his model.[7]
When finished, the painting was acclaimed as a masterpiece of design and characterisation [7], but it deteriorated rapidly,
so that within a hundred years it was described by one viewer as "completely ruined".[5] Leonardo, instead of using the
reliable technique of fresco, had used tempera over a ground that was mainly gesso, resulting in a surface which was
subject to mold and to flaking.[5] Despite this, the painting has remained one of the most reproduced works of art,
countless copies being made in every medium from carpets to cameos.
&
Leonardo’s Paintings in detail continued
PAINTINGS OF THE 1500’s
Among the works created by Leonardo in the 1500s is the small portrait known as the ‘Mona Lisa’ or ‘la Gioconda’ (the
laughing).
Mona Lisa
Italian: La Gioconda French: La Joconde
c. 1503–1506
Oil on Poplar / 77 × 53 cm (30.2 × 20.9 in)
Musée du Louvre, Paris, France
The painting is famous, in particular, for the elusive smile on the woman's
face, its mysterious quality brought about perhaps by the fact that the artist
has subtly shadowed the corners of the mouth and eyes so that the exact
nature of the smile cannot be determined. The shadowy quality for which
the work is renowned came to be called "sfumato" or Leonardo's smoke.
Sfumato, an Italian word meaning ‘toned down’ or literally ‘vanished in smoke’ is a technique used with particular
success by Leonardo for defining form by delicate gradations of light and shade. It is achieved in oil painting through the
use of glazes, and it produces a misty, dreamlike effect. [1]
Vasari, who is generally thought to have known the painting only by repute, said that "the smile was so pleasing that it
seemed divine rather than human; and those who saw it were amazed to find that it was as alive as the original". [7]
Other characteristics found in this work are the unadorned dress, in which the eyes and hands have no competition from
other details, the dramatic landscape background in which the world seems to be in a state of flux, the subdued
colouring and the extremely smooth nature of the painterly technique, employing oils, but laid on much like tempera and
blended on the surface so that the brushstrokes are indistinguishable. Vasari expressed the opinion that the manner of
painting would make even "the most confident master ... despair and lose heart." [7]
:
Leonardo’s Paintings in detail continued
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The Virgin and Child with St Anne
c.1508
Oil on wood
168 × 112 cm (66.1 × 44.1 in)
Musée du Louvre, Paris, France
This painting, which was copied many times, was to influence Michelangelo,
Raphael, and Andrea del Sarto and through them Pontormo and Correggio.
The trends in composition were adopted in particular by the Venetian painters
Tintoretto and Veronese.
Leonardo was not a prolific painter, but he was a most prolific draftsman, keeping journals full of small sketches and
detailed drawings recording all manner of things that took his attention. As well as the journals there exist many studies
for paintings, some of which can be identified as preparatory to particular works such as ‘The Adoration of the Magi’,
‘The Virgin of the Rocks’ and ‘The Last Supper’.
[14]
His earliest dated drawing is a Landscape of the Arno Valley, 1473,
which shows the river, the mountains, Montelupo Castle and the farmlands beyond it in great detail. [6] [14]
St. John the Baptist
1513–1516
Oil on walnut wood
69 × 57 cm (27.2 × 22.4 in)
Musée du Louvre, Paris, France
Completed from 1513 to 1516, when the High Renaissance
was metamorphosing into Mannerism, this is believed to be
Leonardo da Vinci’s last painting.
@
5.2. DRAWINGS – THE VITRUVIAN MAN
Renaissance humanism saw no mutually exclusive polarities between the sciences and the arts, and Leonardo's studies
in science and engineering are as impressive and innovative as his artistic work, recorded in notebooks comprising
some 13,000 pages of notes and drawings, which fuse art and natural philosophy (the forerunner of modern science).
These notes were made and maintained daily throughout Leonardo's life and travels, as he made continual observations
of the world around him. [8]
Leonardo’s drawings (the Vitruvian Man is only one of many) reflect his passionate interest in the origins of life and in
discovering scientific explanations for natural phenomena. The thousands of studies, covering virtually every aspect of
scientific and artistic endeavor, contrast strikingly with the small number of finished paintings by his hand.
In 15th century Italy, the circular ideal was an aspect of the humanist synthesis of Classical with Christian thought. It was
also related to the new interest in the direct observation of the nature. Alberti, for example noted that in antiquity temples
dedicated to certain gods were round, and he connected the divinity of the circle with round structure in nature. He wrote
in his treatise on architecture that “nature delights primarily in the circle” as well as in other centrally planned shapes
such as the hexagon. In support of this view, Alberty observed that all insects create their living quarters in hexagonal
shape (i.e. the cells of bees). Further, Alberti and other 15th century architects followed Vitruvius in relating to
architectural harmony to human symmetry. Temples, according to Vitruvius, required symmetry and proportion in order
to achieve the proper relation between parts that is fund in a well shaped man. [16]
Leonardo da Vinci followed these principles when devising his own projects for churches.
The Vitruvian Man is a world-renowned
drawing by da Vinci, which illustrates the
observation made by Vitruvius that if a man
extends his four limbs so that his hands and
feet touch the circumference of a circle, his
navel will correspondent to the centre of that
circle. Vitruvius also drew a square whose
sides were touched by the head, feet and
outstretched arms of a man.
Leonardo’s script runs from right to left and
must be read in a mirror to date there is no
generally accepted explanation for this
curious mirror writing. [16]
B
5.3. LEONARDO DA VINCI & SCIENCE
Leonardo’s journals are mostly written in mirror-image cursive. The reason may have been more a practical expediency
than for reasons of secrecy as is often suggested. His notes and drawings display an enormous range of interests and
preoccupations, some as mundane as lists of groceries and people who owed him money and some as intriguing as
designs for wings and shoes for walking on water. There are compositions for paintings, studies of details and drapery,
studies of faces and emotions, of animals, babies, dissections, plant studies, rock formations, whirl pools, war machines,
helicopters and architecture. [8]
Leonardo's approach to science was an observational one: he tried to understand a phenomenon by describing and
depicting it in utmost detail, and did not emphasize experiments or theoretical explanation. Since he lacked formal
education in Latin and mathematics, contemporary scholars mostly ignored Leonardo the scientist, although he did
teach himself Latin. In the 1490s he studied mathematics under Luca Pacioli and prepared a series of drawings of
regular solids in a skeletal form to be engraved as plates for Pacioli's book De Divina Proportione, published in 1509. [8]
It appears that from the content of his journals he was planning a series of treatises to be published on a variety of
subjects. A coherent treatise on anatomy was said to have been observed during a visit by Cardinal Louis D'Aragon's
secretary in 1517.
[15]
Aspects of his work on the studies of anatomy, light and the landscape were assembled for
publication by his pupil Francesco Melzi and eventually published as Treatise on Painting by Leonardo da Vinci in
France and Italy in 1651, and Germany in 1724, with engravings based upon drawings by the Classical painter Nicholas
Poussin. [5] According to Arasse, the treatise, which in France went into sixty two editions in fifty years, caused Leonardo
to be seen as "the precursor of French academic thought on art".[8]
Leonardo's formal training in the anatomy of the human body began with his apprenticeship to Andrea del Verrocchio,
his teacher insisting that all his pupils learn anatomy. As an artist, he quickly became master of topographic anatomy,
drawing many studies of muscles, tendons and other visible anatomical features. As a successful artist, he was given
permission to dissect human corpses at the hospital Santa Maria Nuova in Florence and later at hospitals in Milan and
Rome. From 1510 to 1511 he collaborated in his studies with the doctor Marcantonio della Torre and together they
prepared a theoretical work on anatomy for which Leonardo made more than 200 drawings. It was published only in
1680 (161 years after his death) under the heading Treatise on painting. [8] [14]
Leonardo drew many studies of the human skeleton and its parts, as well as muscles and sinews, the heart and vascular
system, the sex organs, and other internal organs. He made one of the first scientific drawings of a fetus in utero.
[14]
As
an artist, Leonardo closely observed and recorded the effects of age and of human emotion on the physiology, studying
in particular the effects of rage. He also drew many figures who had significant facial deformities or signs of illness. [14] [8]
He also studied and drew the anatomy of many other animals as well, dissecting cows, birds, monkeys, bears, and
frogs, and comparing in his drawings their anatomical structure with that of humans. He also made a number of studies
of horses. During his life time Leonardo was valued as an engineer. In a letter to Ludovico il Moro he claimed to be able
to create all sorts of machines both for the protection of a city and for siege. When he fled to Venice in 1499 he found
employment as an engineer and devised a system of moveable barricades to protect the city from attack. He also had a
scheme for diverting the flow of the Arno River in order to flood Pisa. His journals include a vast number of inventions,
both practical and impractical. They include musical instruments, hydraulic pumps, reversible crank mechanisms, finned
mortar shells and a steamcannon. [6][8]
7
Leonardo da Vinci & Science continued
For much of his life, Leonardo was fascinated by the phenomenon of flight, producing many studies of the flight of birds,
including his c. 1505 Codex on the Flight of Birds, as well as plans for several flying machines, including a helicopter and
a light hang glider. [8]
The interest in Leonardo has never slackened. The crowds still queue to see his most famous artworks, T-shirts bear his
most famous drawing and writers, like Vasari, continue to marvel at his genius and speculate about his private life and,
particularly, about what one so intelligent actually believed in.[8]
Giorgio Vasari, in the enlarged edition of Lives of the Artists, 1568,
[7]
introduced his chapter on Leonardo da Vinci with
the following words: In the normal course of events many men and women are born with remarkable talents; but
occasionally, in a way that transcends nature, a single person is marvellously endowed by Heaven with beauty, grace
and talent in such abundance that he leaves other men far behind, all his actions seem inspired and indeed everything
he does clearly comes from God rather than from human skill. Everyone acknowledged that this was true of Leonardo
da Vinci, an artist of outstanding physical beauty, who displayed infinite grace in everything that he did and who
cultivated his genius so brilliantly that all problems he studied he solved with ease.
The interest in Leonardo's genius has continued unabated; experts study and translate his writings, analyse his paintings
using scientific techniques, argue over attributions and search for works which have been recorded but never found.
Liana Bortolon, writing in 1967, said: "Because of the multiplicity of interests that spurred him to pursue every field of
knowledge ... Leonardo can be considered, quite rightly, to have been the universal genius par excellence, and with all
the disquieting overtones inherent in that term. Man is as uncomfortable today, faced with a genius, as he was in the
16th century. Five centuries have passed, yet we still view Leonardo with awe." [6]
C
References
/
:
Sources
1.
A History of Western Art by Laurie Schneider Adams, Third Edition, pg. 279/80 ISBN 0-07231717-5
2.
National Gallery London, www.nationalgallery.org.uk/collection/news/newsitems/leonardo.htm
3.
Museo Nazionale della Scienza e della Tecnologia Leonardo da Vinci, Milano, Italy
4.
Angela Ottino della Chiesa, 1967 - The Complete Paintings of Leonardo da Vinci, Penguin, ISBN 0-1400-8649-8
5.
Giorgio Vasari - Lives of the Artists, 1568; Penguin Classics Edition, Trans. George Bull 1965, ISBN 0-14-044-164-6
6.
Liana Bortolon, The Life and Times of Leonardo 1967, London: Paul Hamlyn
7.
Daniel Arasse, Leonardo da Vinci, Konecky & Konecky, 1997, ISBN 1 56852 1987
8.
Andrew Martindale - The Rise of the Artist, Thames and Hudson, ISBN 0-5000-56006-4
9.
Georges Goyau. Francois I Transcribed by Gerald Rossi. The Catholic Encyclopaedia, Volume VI Published 1909. New York:
Robert Appleton Company
10. Gene A. Brucker, 1969, Renaissance Florence, Wiley and Sons, ISBN 0-471-11370-0
11. Frederick Hartt, A History of Italian Renaissance Art, pp.387-411
12. Luciano Berti 1971, The Uffizi, Scala
13. Michael Baxandall 1974, Painting and Experience in Fifteenth Century Italy, Oxford University Press, ISBN 0 19 881329 5
14. Turning the Pages, "Sketches by Leonardo". British Library, London
15. Daniel S. Levy 4 October 1999 "Dream of the Master" “Time Magazine”
16. A History of Western Art by Laurie Schneider Adams, Third Edition, pg. 274/5 ISBN 0-07231717-5
17. Cornelia Syre, Jan Schmidt, Heike Stege et al.: Leonardo da Vinci – Die Madonna mit der Nelke, Ausstellung in der Alten
Pinakothek, 194 Seiten, 139 Abb., München, Schirmer/Mosel, pg.113-115 ISBN 3-8296-0272-3 /978-3-8296-0272-3
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