Curiosity was the mother of all inventions, so brilliant minds investigated and devised incredible inventions and ideas. Leonardo da Vinci was considered as one of the best inventors and artists to have ever graced western art. Most of his paintings, including the Last Supper, the Mona Lisa, the Virgin of the Rocks, and the Vitruvian Man, represented his wit and genius. Nonetheless, during his tenure, he completed a few sketches, the experiences of which have withstood the test of time (Barolsky 394). Furthermore, Leonardo's paintings' beauty was due to his profound knowledge of human anatomy, which was a futuristic development of the craft. According to Velman (381), Leonardo “focused on the world of nature, animals, and human beings.” Using the concept of human anatomy and linear perspective, he managed to produce almost realistic painting; much better than his predecessors in the art (Brockwell 4-5). While most of the Renaissance period paintings were mostly flat and two-dimensional, Leonardo’s application of linear perspective in the Last Supper, the Vitruvian Man, the Mona Lisa, and the Virgin of the Rocks were precisely graphic and almost real. The project studies the three Leonardo’s portraits and discuss how his application of knowledge of nature and the concept of linear perspective have been manifested in his work.
The Artist
Leonardo was born (1452) and trained as a painter and sculptor in the town of Florence in Italy. His teacher Andrea del Verrocchio (1435-1488) gave Leonardo a masterful teaching in artistry, but it was Leonardo’s curiosity and voracious hunger for more knowledge that propelled him to greatness (Veltman 381). Throughout his career, he constantly observed, experimented, drew, and invented different concepts of art (Barolsky, 395). Moreover, he used this nature investigation knowledge to make exemplary drawings. Over the course of his life, Leonardo da Vinci lived and worked in Florence (1472-1482, and 1500-1508), Milan (1482-1499), and spent his last days in Rome (1513-1516), and in France (1516-1519) (Brockwell 2). To this day, his art and sculptor genius inspires artists and scientists continuously.
Leonardo’s Masterpiece: The Last Supper (1495)
The Last Supper (Khan Academy)
In The Last Supper (1492/94-1498, Leonardo captured the moment when Jesus Christ revealed to his disciples that one amongst them would betray him. The revelation seemed to have caused a visible response amongst his disciples, sending a wave of emotions towards them. Looking closely, the reaction of each apostle was unique, a concept Leonardo termed to be “motions of the mind (Brockwell, 17).” Despite that, there was a sense of order expressed in the portrait; the head of the Master (Christ) appeared to be centred and framed by a halo. The head also acted to be a primary point at which the projection openings of architecture settings’ perspective converged. The arrangement of the apostles was orderly too; four groups were arranged around Christ with three united by their pose and gestures, while Judas with a shadowed face appeared on the opposite side of the table.
As expressed by Arnheim, the “quality is needed by every good work of art, although to varying degrees of perfection, (Arnheim 167).” Despite years of neglecting, the magnificent painting prevailed. Moreover, the perfect painting symmetry and linear perspective usage drew the viewers’ attention to Christ; who was the centre of the painting. This, as Arnheim noted, was the quality that was needed for every good piece of art (Arnheim 167). Moreover, Baroslky in his article Leonardo, Satan, and the Mystery of Modern Art stated Leonardo to set a standard for perfection that “an [modern] artist was doomed to failure because he could never achieve it [perfection]” (Barolsky 401).
Leonardo’s Masterpiece: The Vitruvian Man (1490)
The Vitruvian Man was the painting of a square and a circle image overlaid on each other to form a single image. It was a presentation of the Vitruvian proportions of the man with arms and legs spread out and inscribed in a circle, providing a perfect presentation of his human anatomy mastery (Rykwert 98). The penis setting was at the centre of the portrait, which in turn, appeared to be the very centre of the square, and in notably the centre of the subscribed circle. His keen interest of proportionality was evident in the picture and explained why other paintings of his were structured to appear proportional; a trait that was lacking in the art of the Renaissance period.
The Vitruvian Man (Stanford.edu)
As Rykwert in the article Leonardo’s Vitruvian Man explained, Leonardo’s art execution was an expression of anatomy perfection (Rykwert 99). The proportional human body needed to be presented as such in the drawings, and in the portrait. Moreover, the linearity of the portrait formed most of the basis for the art by Leonardo such as the Mona Lisa.
Leonardo’s Masterpiece: The Mona Lisa (1503)
The Mona Lisa was one of Leonardo’s greatest portraits. It was presumably a painting of a woman called Lisa, Francesco del Giocondo’s wife. The painting was shrewd with a mystery and soft light, and a calm smile of Lisa, all that created an enchanting atmosphere around it (Bishop 211).Leonardo’s understanding of nature and perfection was evident in the contours of rock formation and streams at the background of the portrait; mostly forming a continuous form, as if everything was in motion.
The Mona Lisa (Khan Academy)
Barolsky discussed that the portrait smile was that of Leonardo; a creation of his feminine doubled. The portrait inwardness and lines reflected a human nature and a presentation of an artist psyched up for his work. Through linear perspective, every line and brush of the painting were demonstrated to present perfection for modern artist works to be achieved. The work perfection affected the viewer deeply, and the sense of wonder that came along with it made the piece of art irresistible.
Leonardo’s Masterpiece: The Virgin of the Rocks (1483)
The painting was the representation of Virgin Mary, Christ, John the Baptist and an angel. The composition of the painting was basically and pyramidally arranged and represented the four figures in a balanced way (Bishop 210). The natural environment was evident and the proportionality of the four figures intact. Moreover, the angel on the left reinforced the Christ figure on the right, and thus drawing the figure to the little Jesus as he blessed St John.
While the pyramidal composition was a concept employed mostly by the artist in the Renaissance period, Leonardo’s linear perspectives made the art appear natural and engaging. Moreover, the knowledge of natural perfection brought life into the picture, thus setting the way for the modern art to prevail. Veltman in the article Leonardo da Vinci : A Review stated that the paintings of the Renaissance period had difficulty in presenting complex technical drawings but through the knowledge gained through studies, Leonardo was able to present figures such as this one and laid ground for the artist followed to prevail (Veltman 382).
The Virgin on the Rocks (Khan Academy)
Conclusion
As Arnheim (168) and Barolsky (401) expounded, Leonardo’s genius was evident in the three portraits discussed; his application of knowledge about nature as well as the concept of linear perspective resulted in paintings that were better than those of his time. His concept of linear perspective remains evident at the present days; I am one of its beneficiaries, and it feels great to be associated with him. Veltman (386) seems to have agreed that the effect of Leonardo’s perfection in the various arts have become a mark artist of today to pass. This sometimes derails the number of work the artist completes, just as it Leonardo did. Overall, artists today should be challenged to study their fields and explore more ways of designing art, instead of ‘going with the flow,” they may affect the modern art in a significant way.
Works Cited
Arnheim, Rudolf. “The Coming and Going of Images”. (Leonardo), no. 33(3), 2000, p. 167-168. http://mmdi250-sp09.pbworks.com/f/arnheim-comingandgoingofimages.pdf Accessed Jun. 2000.
Barolsky, Paul. “Leonardo, Satan, and the Mystery of Modern Art”. (Virginia Quarterly Review), no. 74(3), 1998, pp. 393-414. http://www.vqronline.org/essay/leonardo-satan-and-mystery-modern-art Accessed Sum. 1998.
Bishop, Philip E. Adventures in the Human Spirit (7th ed.). Lawrence King Publishing Ltd, London. 2014.
Brockwell, Maurice W. Leonardo Da Vinci (1st ed.). Nabu Press, 2010.
Rykwert, Joseph. “Leonardo’s Vitruvian Mian”. (Architectural Review), no. 231(1380), 2012, pp. 98-99.
Veltman, Kim H. “Leonardo Da Vinci: A Review”. (Leonardo), no. 41(4), 2008, pp. 381-388. http://www.mitpressjournals.org/doi/abs/10.1162/leon.2008.41.4.381 Accessed Aug. 2008.
Photo Credits
The Mona Lisa
Khan Academy. "The Mona Lisa". Khan Academy, 2017, https://www.khanacademy.org/humanities/renaissance-reformation/high-ren-florence-rome/leonardo-da-vinci/a/leonardo-mona-lisa.
The Last Supper
Khan Academy. "The Last Supper". Khan Academy, 2017, https://www.khanacademy.org/humanities/renaissance-reformation/high-ren-florence-rome/leonardo-da-vinci/a/leonardo-last-supper
The Virgin of the Rocks
Khan Academy. "Virgin of the Rocks". Khan Academy, 2017, https://www.khanacademy.org/humanities/renaissance-reformation/high-ren-florence-rome/leonardo-da-vinci/a/leonardo-virgin-of-the-rocks
The Vitruvian Man
Stanford. "The Vitruvian Man". Leonardodavinci.Stanford.Edu, https://leonardodavinci.stanford.edu/submissions/clabaugh/history/leonardo.html.
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