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Monday 23 July 2012

Leonardo Da Vinci - An Incredible Artist

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Da Vinci's Life 

A painter, a sculptor, an architect and an engineer, Leonardo Da Vinci's numerous skills have earned him the title of renaissance master. Da Vinci's fascination with science and his in-depth study of human anatomy aided him in mastering the realist art form. While Leonardo's counterparts were known to create static figures in their works, Leonardo always tried to incorporate movement and expression into his own paintings. All the personages in his works are painted with great accuracy and detail that it is sometimes said that Da Vinci painted from the bones outward.
Having lived until the age of 67, Leonardo experienced a very long career that was filled with times during which the painter was celebrated, but at times he was also humiliated and cast away. His life experiences all influenced his works and often, his paintings never left the sketchpad, or were only partially completed, as Leonardo often abandoned his commissions in order to flee from social situations.
Today, there are records of only few Da Vinci paintings, and 20 notebooks. Thankfully, these works have been preserved over the hundreds of years since Leonardo's time, and while his works are scattered in different areas of the globe, everyone can enjoy Da Vinci through the numerous books detailing his life, or through any of the many Da Vinci posters that have been printed.
A well known master in the history of art, Leonard Da Vinci is renown by people all over the map, and those of us who cannot travel to view the true works that the genius created can at least bring home a piece of him when we buy Da Vinci posters or prints. His most famous paintings, and the most popular Da Vinci posters around, are those of The Last Supper, The Mona Lisaand Vitruvian Man: The Proportions of the Human Figure. These works, displayed in Milan and Paris respectively, are among the most influential works ever created.


Leonardo lived a life filled with inspiration, but also with unhappiness. Throughout his years he went through moments of despair, but he also found glory when he was welcomed in Florence as a great painter of the day. While only a few of Leonardo's works remain intact for us to see, and while his life was long lived and sometimes filled with sadness, we are blessed with the gift of the beautiful pieces that Da Vinci left behind. The few paintings of Da Vinci's as well as the many notebooks are scattered in different places throughout the world, one of his notebooks is even owned by software tycoon, Bill Gates. While we can't all buy the actual pieces, we can still all take in a little bit of Da Vinci through art prints of his works. Many Da Vinci art prints and posters exist, and we can purchase the masterful The Last Supper, or The Mona Lisa to bring a little bit of Da Vinci into our own homes.
While Da Vinci's paintings may express numerous thoughts, and may evoke a multitude of feelings for the viewer, it becomes important to understand what was going on in the painter's life when the work was made. Even a Da Vinci poster alone may trigger a conversation about the painter, so here are the facts you'll want to know:
1452
Leonardo is born on April 15 in the village of Anchiano, near the town of Vinci.
1467
At 15 Leonardo is sent to Florence to work as apprentice to Andrea De Verrocchio.
1472
20 year-old Leonardo is accepted into the painters' guild of Florence.
1476
Leonardo is accused of sodomy; he is publicly humiliated although the charges are later dropped.
1478
The Annunciation is painted. The work, initially credited to Da Vinci, is now believed to have been painted by Lorenzo di Credi.
1481
Leonardo begins work on The Adoration of the Magi, an altarpiece for the Monastery of San Donato at Scopeto.
He sketches many studies.
1482
Leonardo moves to Milan to work in the service of the city's duke, Ludovico Sforza. He gains the title of "painter and engineer of the duke.
1483
Leonardo paints the Virgin of the Rocks.
1485
Leonardo paints Lady with an Ermine.
1495
Leonardo begins work on The Last Supper in the refectory of the convent of Santa Maria delle Grazie in Milan.
1498
The Last Supper is completed.
1499
With the duke Ludovico Sforza'a fall from power, Da Vinci leaves Milan and spends a short time in Venice.
1500
Leonardo begins painting the Virgin and Child with Saint Anne, a project that he only finishes after 10 years.
1500
Leonardo returns to Florence.
1502
Leonardo begins work as senior military architect and general engineer for Cesare Borgia, son of Pope Alexander VI.
1503
Leonardo is commissioned to paint the Mona Lisa.
1503
Leonardo is commission to paint a mural for the council hall in Florence's Palazzo Vecchio, which is to be the Battle of Anghiari, a work that would remain unfinished.
1515
Leonardo paints St. John the Baptist.
1516
The king of France invites Leonardo to come work for him.
1519
May 2, Leonardo dies in France.



Da Vinci's Paintings 

the monalisa 

Leonardo Da Vinci's Mona Lisa is one of the most famous and most celebrated works of all time. The mastery of the painting lies in its subtle detail, including the faint smile, and Mona Lisa's distinctive gaze. The work is said to have been commissioned by a gentleman named Francesco del Giocondo, who hired Leonardo to paint a portrait of his wife, and this is why The Mona Lisa is sometimes referred to as La Gioconda.

The Mona Lisa, aside from being one of the most recognized works in the history of art, is also one of the most widely reproduced works ever. 


                                    The Last Supper

A work three years in the making, Leonardo Da Vinci's The Last Supper remains one of the greatest masterpieces of all time. Even over 500 years after the painting was completed, this piece remains one of the most studied paintings in history, and The Last Supper is among the most sold of all Da Vinci posters. 

Leonardo's Drawings

vitruvian man

Vitruvian Man is perhaps Leonardo da Vinci's most famous illustration. In this work, Leonardo used both image and text to express the ideas and theories of Vitruvius, a first century Roman architect and author of 'De Architectura libri X'. The Vitruvian ideas, presented by Leonardo, formed the basis of Renaissance proportion theories in art and architecture.Leonardo's illustration of the theory of Vitruvius is a pen ink drawing of a male figure whose outstretched limbs touch the circumference of a circle and the edges of a square. His navel falls in the exact center of the circle. There is a changing perspective in the work. It is static in structure but dynamic in its presentation of a moving, living man. Hand-written text surrounds the drawing of the figure


Leonardo da Vinci Quotes 

"A well-spent day brings happy sleep".
 

"All our knowledge has its origins in our perceptions". 

"Although nature commences with reason and ends in experience it is necessary for us to do the opposite, that is to commence with experience and from this to proceed to investigate the reason". 

"Anyone who conducts an argument by appealing to authority is not using his intelligence; he is just using his memory". 

"Art is never finished, only abandoned". 

"As a well-spent day brings happy sleep, so a life well spent brings happy death". 

"As every divided kingdom falls, so every mind divided between many studies confounds and saps itself". 

"Beyond a doubt truth bears the same relation to falsehood as light to darkness". 

Blinding ignorance does mislead us. O! Wretched mortals, open your eyes! 

"Common Sense is that which judges the things given to it by other senses".
 





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