Exhaustive Notes on Leonardo da Vinci, Michelangelo, and Raphael

Transition to the High Renaissance

• Leonardo da Vinci represents the critical transition from the fifteenth-century Renaissance to the High Renaissance of the sixteenth century.

• Leonardo began his artistic training in the workshop of Andrea del Verrocchio in $1466$ at the age of $14$.

• Verrocchio's workshop was regarded as one of the preeminent studios in Florence, associated with other notable painters such as Ghirlandaio and Sandro Botticelli.

• Apprentices frequently executed much of the painted output produced by Verrocchio's workshop.

• In $1472$, Leonardo was accepted into the painters' guild of Florence, though he remained in Verrocchio’s workshop until $1477$.

• From $1477$ to approximately $1481$, Leonardo worked independently in Florence. His output from this era consists largely of pencil sketches involving human figures and mechanical designs.

Collaborative Works: The Baptism of Christ

• According to the biographer Giorgio Vasari, Leonardo collaborated with Verrocchio on the painting The Baptism of Christ (currently in the Uffizi Gallery, Florence).

• Leonardo is credited with painting the kneeling angel on the far left, parts of the landscape, and the body of Christ.

• Vasari's anecdote: He reported that Leonardo painted an angel holding garments with such skill that it surpassed Verrocchio’s figures. This supposedly led Verrocchio to vow never to touch colors again out of shame that a boy understood their use better than he did. This is supported by the fact that The Baptism of Christ is Verrocchio’s last known painting.

• Scientific Evidence: X-ray analysis reveals that Verrocchio’s original sketch for the far-left angel differs entirely from the final result attributed to Leonardo, indicating Leonardo was already establishing his own style.

• Formal Comparison of the Angels:

  • Leonardo’s Angel: Appears naturalistic, engages with the central action of the scene, and shows high spatial awareness.

  • Verrocchio’s Angel: Stares off into space, appearing distant and uninterested in the biblical event.

• Modeling: It is theorized that a young Leonardo may have served as the model for Verrocchio’s bronze statue of David.

Physiognomy and Early Independent Style

• Leonardo’s angel in the Baptism of Christ demonstrates a superior interest in physiognomy.

• Verbatim Definition: Physiognomy is the assessment of a person's character or personality through the representation of their face and expressions, extending beyond outer appearance.

• Leonardo's technique utilized subtle gradation of tones and figurative composition to register internal emotions through gesture.

• The Annunciation ($1472$-$1475$): Originally attributed to Verrocchio, nineteenth-century reassessment universally attributed it to Leonardo. The angel in this work closely resembles the angel in the Baptism of Christ, confirming Leonardo's hand.

The Silver Altarpiece for the Florence Baptistery

• Leonardo is believed to have collaborated with Verrocchio on a silver relief panel depicting the Beheading of Saint John the Baptist.

• Commission details: Commissioned by the wool merchants' guild for the Florence Baptistery. It was a lavish, large-scale work designed to showcase the guild's economic power, similar to sculptures at Orsanmichele.

• Technical Innovation: Verrocchio used a "composite construction" for the relief.

  • Effect 1: Figures stand free of the relief ground, casting shadows onto the plate behind and below them, creating a sense of real space.

  • Effect 2: Figures are pegged at different heights from the plate, creating illusionistic spatial intervals.

• Attributions to Leonardo:

  • Turbaned Warrior (second from right): Features a fierce expression, detailed middle-aged skin with sagging jowls, and a leather skirt that responds fluidly to movement. This contrasts with Verrocchio's rigid, cursory treatment. It is often compared to Leonardo's silverpoint drawing, Head of a Warrior (British Museum, c. $1475$).

  • Angelic Youth (far left): Holding a flat tray; attributed to Leonardo due to the specific curly locks, expressive gestures, and high level of detail.

• Note: There is no universal agreement among scholars regarding these specific attributions, though many lean toward Leonardo's hand due to the distinct naturalism.

Leonardo in Milan and the Virgin of the Rocks

• In $1492$, Leonardo moved to Milan to serve at the court of Duke Ludovico Sforza.

• He sought multiple projects that allowed him to explore diverse interests and abilities.

• Commissions: During this time, he painted The Last Supper and versions of The Virgin of the Rocks.

• Project Controversy: Painted for the Confraternity of the Immaculate Conception for their chapel in Milan. Leonardo entered a bitter dispute over payment around $1491$-$1492$, leading him to believe the work was worth more than the agreed amount.

• Two Versions:

  • Louvre Version (Paris): Likely painted first ($1483$ commission). It may have been sold to a different client after the dispute.

  • National Gallery Version (London): Painted in the $1490$s to replace the Louvre version. It was likely unfinished when Leonardo fled Milan for France after Sforza fell.

• Formal Elements:

  • Pyramidal Composition: A hallmark of the High Renaissance where figures are arranged in a triangular formation (Madonna, Christ Child, infant St. John, and an angel).

  • Fumáto: Verbatim Definition: A smoky atmosphere and effect used to create delicate gradations of light and shade, heightening light-dark modeling.

  • Chiaroscuro: Used for physical modeling of forms.

  • Iconography Differences: The Louvre version lacks St. John's typical attributes (halo, scroll, camel skin). The London version includes halos (likely added by others) and omits the angel's pointing hand.

Virgin and Child with Saint Anne

• An early sixteenth-century panel painting.

• Leonardo utilized a "cartoon" (a charcoal, white, and brown paper sketch) to work and rework the composition.

• Features robust, monumental figures in a three-dimensional stacked pyramid structure.

• Employs atmospheric perspective: Foreground figures are clear with soft transitions (no hard lines), while the background is mysterious, smoky, and atmospheric.

Michelangelo and Neoplatonism

• Michelangelo’s art is the representative of idealism, heavily influenced by Neoplatonic theory.

• Neoplatonic Hierarchy:

  • The One: The highest, perfect realm beyond being, transcending all categories.

  • The Intellect (Divine Mind): Reflects the One; populated by divine ideas and perfect exemplars.

  • The Soul: Bound by matter and corruption on earth; can reach a higher state through contemplation.

• Artistic Philosophy: Michelangelo believed the artist’s role was to release a preexistent form already contained within a block of marble. He stated: ‘The greatest artist has no conception which a single block of marble does not potentially contain within its mass, but only a hand which obeys the intellect can accomplish that.’

• Personal Context: Educated in the Medici compound under the patronage of Lorenzo de Medici, where he became familiar with Marsilio Ficino’s translations of Plato.

The Tomb of Pope Julius II

• Commissioned in $1505$ as a massive freestanding monument for Saint Peter’s, originally planned with $40$ statues.

• The project was interrupted when Julius II ordered Michelangelo to paint the Sistine Chapel ceiling. After the Pope's death in $1513$, funding was cut and the design was greatly reduced.

• Three-Level Symbology:

  • Lowest Level: Represented earthly existence and the soul in bondage. Included "Slaves" (like the Dying Slave) struggling to free themselves from stone, symbolizing the soul’s struggle against natural desires and passions.

  • Middle Level: Represented the contemplative life and the victory of the spirit. Features the figure of Moses.

  • Third Level (Original Plan): Depicted the Madonna and Child, evoking resurrection and eternal life.

• Michelangelo viewed his sculpting skill as a divine gift from God to copy His perfections.

The Sistine Chapel Ceiling

• Completed between $1508$ and $1512$. The architecture itself was finished in $1473$.

• Program: Old Testament scenes from Genesis, including the Creation of Adam, figures of the ancestors of Christ, and prophets.

• Interpretation: Like the tomb, it represents the struggle of the soul to free itself from the material world. It covers the creation, fall, and redemption of man.

• The Creation of Adam: Depicts the moment God’s finger nearly touches Adam’s, granting him life. The female figure under God’s arm is interpreted either as Eve (reading the panel right-to-left) or the Virgin Mary (reading left-to-right as a symbol of future redemption from Adam's sin).

Raphael and the Stanza della Segnatura

• Raphael was the youngest of the three, apprenticed to Perugino at age $13$. In $1508$, he moved to Rome to work for Julius II, championed by the architect Bramante.

• Stanza della Segnatura: Originally the Pope’s private library. The frescoes represent the four branches of human knowledge:

  • Philosophy (The School of Athens)

  • Theology (The Disputa)

  • Poetry and Music (Parnassus)

  • Jurisprudence (Law)

• Philosophy vs. Theology: These frescoes face each other on opposite walls to reconcile Neoplatonism/Pagan wisdom with Christian doctrine.

The School of Athens ($1509$-$1511$)

• Dimensions: $28\,\text{feet}$ wide by $18\,\text{feet}$ tall.

• Setting: A great hall reflective of Bramante’s designs for the new Saint Peter’s. Figures of Apollo (god of rationality/arts) and Athena (goddess of wisdom) oversee the philosophers.

• Central Figures:

  • Plato: Modeled after Leonardo da Vinci; points upward to symbolize his philosophy of the ideal and spiritual realms.

  • Aristotle: Gestures downward toward the earth, representing his philosophy of the material world and human affairs.

• Diverse Inclusions:

  • Diogenes: Reclining in blue on the steps, symbolizing rejection of material wealth.

  • Euclid: Modeled after Bramante; depicted drawing with a compass on a blackboard.

  • Pythagoras: Shown with a blackboard of musical proportions.

  • Heraclitus: Modeled after Michelangelo; depicted in isolation as an "isolated genius."

  • Self-Portrait: Raphael includes himself in the Euclidean group looking out at the viewer.

  • Pico della Mirandola: Seen standing in white, credited with synthesising Plato and Aristotle.

• Organization: The composition forms an equilateral triangle with the apex at the vanishing point between the heads of Plato and Aristotle.

• Authorship of Concepts: It is believed the librarian Tommaso (Iirimi) developed the complex iconography, which Raphael then visualized, as Raphael could not read Latin and likely lacked the depth of philosophical knowledge required for such a program.