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Leonardo
was so versatile that it is difficult to dub him in
any one branch of study. He was never content as far
as learning was concerned. He took to work pretty early
in life because of which he was not able to pursue higher
study. Somewhere in his mind Leonardo thought himself
inferior to others when it came to orthodox learning.
He was a keen observer and good at logic and reasoning.
His ability to memorize facts helped him venture into
diverse fields of study. He was the first one to say
that art is a science. Leonardo asserted that creation
in itself is unique and inimitable. Only an artist,
using his vision, can recreate nature, so he becomes
the most important person in the pattern of things.
His unquenchable thirst for knowledge led him towards
diverse fields of interest, such as anatomical studies
and drawing, architecture, mechanics and cosmology!
Milestones
In Painting –
A
world-renowned painter like Leonardo didn’t leave
a vast collection of his work in contrast to his contemporaries.
Only 17 of the paintings that have survived can be attributed
to him. Some celebrated paintings like the Battle of
Anghiari and Leda were left incomplete by the genius
for unknown reasons. Despite these facts, Vasari, in
his work ‘Lives’ places Leonardo in the last
'Golden age of Arts'. Famous art critics like Peter
Paul Rubens, Johann Wolfgang von Goethe and Eugene,
Delacroix applaud Leonardo’s art of expression.
For Leonardo, expression was the chief concept of art,
which included the basic demands of truth, beauty and
accuracy.
Leonardo
achieved what he needed very early, in his angel in
Verrocchio’s Baptism of Christ (1474-75). Leonardo
placed nature atop and used the most for backgrounds
and foregrounds.
In
the Madonna Benois (1478) Leonardo captured a refreshing
and charming expression of child Jesus reaching for
the flower in Mary’s hand in a sweet and tender
manner.
His
portrait of Ginevva de Benci (1475-78) opened new paths
for portrait painting with his singular linking of nearness
and distance. Leonardo’s studies in Anatomy greatly
helped him in painting. His painting St. Jerome (1480)
wears a sorrowful look because of the gestures and looks
attained through the correct portrayal of the body structure.
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The Virgin of the Rocks presents the picturesque meeting between the boy John and the equally young Jesus in wilderness. The picture does not depict an incident but it shows a vision. One of the last masterpieces of Leonardo is his Visions of the End of the World, a series of sketches that took the end of the world as the theme.
The Last Supper
The Last Supper is a testimony and just a spark of his genius. The composition reveals simplicity in appearance and depth in meaning. The striking contrast in the facial expressions of the 12 disciples brings out stark human nature. Leonardo didn’t portray the traitor Judas, instead he showed the 12 disciples who reach the height of tension when Jesus says, “One of you, which eateth with me, will betray me”.
Technical deficiencies did not lessen its fame. Leonardo didn’t use fresco painting. He favored another technique he developed, called tempera on a base mixed by him on the stone wall. |
Mona
Lisa
Between 1500 and 1506 four great creations made sure
that Leonardo attained immortality in the history of
painting. They were, the Virgin and child with St. Anne
(Louvre), Mona Lisa, Battle of Anghiari, and Leda.
Using
light natural colors, Mona Lisa was very close to reality.
Mona Lisa’s beauty lies in its liveliness. Mona
Lisa became the ideal type of portrait, in which the
features and symbolic overtones of the person painted
achieved a complete synthesis. Raphael, a contemporary
of Leonardo was inspired by Mona Lisa, which served
as a model for his Portrait of Maddalena Doni. The finesse
and sense of conviction with which Mona Lisa was created;
it’s almost impossible to recreate.
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