Leonardo da Vinci: Early Career and Painting Techniques

Leonardo da Vinci's Early Career and Painting Techniques

Leonardo's Early Works

• Collaboration with Verrocchio: Baptism of Christ

  • Leonardo, as an apprentice, exhibited an unusual tendency to deviate from the master's style, which was typically expected of young artists.

  • He painted the left angel, notable for its curly hair where light is unifyied by the play of light along its length, and a distant, dreamy expression.

  • Leonardo also painted the landscape background, characterized by a rich, humid atmosphere with blurred forms, contrasting sharply with Verrocchio's more clarified and distinct landscapes.

• Solo Effort: Annunciation

  • This early solo work by Leonardo (Angel Gabriel announcing to Virgin Mary) is not considered a masterpiece and reveals an artist still in development.

  • Unresolved Elements:

    • Figure of the Virgin Mary: Displays continuity problems. Her torso is angled to the picture plane, but her right arm (reaching for a prayer book) and left arm (moving back, hand raised) seem unconvincingly attached to the shoulders. Her legs are also depicted remarkably far apart, giving her a sturdy and odd appearance.

    • Grassy Area: Focuses on individual plants rather than cohering into a unified lawn-like expanse, unlike the angel's hair in the Baptism of Christ.

    • Perspective: Appears forced, with the vanishing point extracted far into the landscape. Leonardo